Plan B now available OTC in Canada

MONTREAL The emergency contraceptive Plan B became fully available as an over-the-counter medicine, Paladin Labs, which distributes Plan B in the Canadian market, announced last week.

Before the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities granted Plan B full OTC status, the emergency contraceptive had been available behind-the-counter.

“We are thrilled with NAPRA’s decision,” stated Madeleine Boscoe, nurse with the Women’s Health Clinic in Winnipeg.

“Plan B meets all the relevant criteria for sale as an OTC product,” commented Colleen Metge, Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba, and a former chairperson of the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee. “The drug is safe, easy to use, does not require personal instruction or any examination by a doctor, and the active ingredient, levonorgestrel, has a long history of safe and effective use both as an oral contraceptive and emergency contraceptive.”