First chewing gum contraceptive pills hit market

NEW YORK: A spearmint-flavoured chewing gum that can prevent women from conceiving has hit drug stores in the US for the first time.

Developed by US pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb and launched this week the pill Femcon Fe contains the same hormones as standard oral contraceptives, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.

Like other birth-control pills, the new pill is a 28-day regimen. Each pack has 21 white tablets. The pack also includes seven brown reminder tablets. All 28 tablets contain 75 mg of an iron supplement.

Why a chewable pill? Birth control pills don't work if you don't take them, notes Laurent Delli-Bovi, medical director for Boston's Chestnut Hill Family Planning Facility.

"Research has shown that compliance still impacts oral contraceptive failure rates, and anything we can do to make it easier for our patients to maintain a daily regimen is a notable advancement," Bovi said.

According to a number of studies, one-third to nearly one-half of women on birth control pills miss one or two per month, increasing their chances of pregnancy, according to a report appeared in the online edition of Daily Mail. The new pill may help them to remember, it said.

Women must drink 8 ounces of water with the tablet. Like other oral contraceptives, Femcon Fe does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases and carries an increased risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke, particularly for female smokers over the age of 35, it said.