OTTAWA – New Democrats say the Conservative government took too long to issue an urgent recall for Alysena-28 birth control pills, putting women’s health at risk and increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancy.

“The Health Minister should have issued a mandatory recall as soon as Alysena manufacturer, Apotex, informed her of the problems with lot LF01899A of their contraceptive pill. Some women may have continued to use it up to a week after the problem was discovered. Initially deemed a voluntary recall by Health Canada, the minister failed to take into account the risks of unplanned pregnancies for many women,” said NDP Health critic, Libby Davies.

A packaging error led to this recall. The blister packs normally include three rows of active pills and one of placebos. Alysena-28 lot LF01899A may only contain two rows of active pills.

“The fact that neither the Health Minister nor Apotex thought it was necessary to inform users of the contraceptive of the risk of unplanned pregnancies is appalling. Alysena is distributed across the entire country. The minister showed a lack of judgement. We must do everything we can to prevent such incidents from happening again,” said deputy Health critic Djaouida Sellah.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 12, 2013

OTTAWA – In light of recent media reports linking the death of 23 Canadian women to Yaz and Yasmin brands of birth control pills, New Democrats are asking the Minister of Health to implement better drug safety measures in Canada.

“Once again, the health and safety of Canadians are being put at risk and the Conservative government simply is not doing enough,” explained NDP Health Critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “Our drug safety standards lag behind the U.S. and Europe, and we have poor labeling and drug information systems. We need serious reforms to bring us up to international standards.”

Furthermore, according to a recent report of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, from 2010 to 2011, around 27,000 Canadian seniors were hospitalized as a result of an adverse drug reaction.

“We need better mechanisms for evaluating drug safety and the effectiveness of reporting adverse drug reactions,” said Davies. “And, more importantly, we need better mechanisms to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for safety.”