Canada's national health agency, Health Canada, on Tuesday approved emergency contraception -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex -- for use without a doctor's prescription, allowing the pills to be sold at pharmacies nationwide, the CP/Yahoo! News reports. The order granting nonprescription status to Plan B, which is produced by Barr Pharmaceuticals subsidiary Duramed Pharmaceuticals, goes into effect immediately, according to the CP/Yahoo! News (CP/Yahoo! News, 4/19). The order amends the national Food and Drug Regulations classification for the 0.75 mg dosage of the drug levonorgestrel from Schedule F to Schedule II. Schedule F drugs are available only with a doctor's prescription, while Schedule II drugs are available from a pharmacy after professional consultation with the pharmacist. EC already was available without a doctor's prescription in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan, and provincial rules say that pharmacists can refuse to dispense EC for moral or religious reasons (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 5/20/04). The move makes Canada the 34th country worldwide to make emergency contraception available without a doctor's prescription, according to a Barr Pharmaceuticals representative (Baltimore Sun, 4/21).

Next Steps
During the next few weeks, provinces and territories throughout Canada will decide whether to allow Plan B to be sold "in front of the counter" and allow "totally unrestricted" sales of the pills, according to Dr. Judith Soon, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia, the CP/Yahoo! News reports. Although OTC sales of Plan B will increase women's access to the pills, Soon said the move might make reimbursements through health plans and social assistance programs more difficult. "What will be really important is now that this rule makes for timely access, now it's important that it's affordable," Soon said (CP/Yahoo! News, 4/19).

Reaction
The decision to approve EC for nonprescription sales has "divided the public," Reuters reports. Supporters of the decision say that easier access to EC will reduce the number of abortions throughout the country, but opponents say it could "promote promiscuity" or be substituted for birth control, according to Reuters. The Canadian Pharmacists Association, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Canadian Nurses Association and the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada supported Health Canada's decision to make Plan B a nonprescription drug (Younglai, Reuters, 4/21).