ALMOST FOUR IN every five consultations with pharmacists for the morning after pill takes place within 24 hours of unprotected sex, while 33 per cent takes place within 12 hours of sex.
The figures from an Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) survey show that women aged 18 to 24 accounted for almost half of the consultations, followed by women aged between 25 and 30.
It was also revealed that nearly one in five women with a medical card chose to get their emergency hormonal contraception from their pharmacy as opposed to getting it free on prescription from their GP. Of those, 70 per cent do so within 24 of unprotected sexual intercourse and 90 per cent within 48 hours.
The results, published for today’s IPU National Pharmacy Conference, have led to pharmacists calling for the morning after pill to be made free for those with a medical card.
Kathy Maher, Vice President of the IPU noted that pharmacists already offer the flu vaccine without charge to medical card patients and suggested that a similar service for emergency contraception be put in place for women with medical cards.
Other findings from the IPU show that Monday is the most common day for patient consultations, followed by Wednesday and Thursday. While, Dublin and Cork City are the most popular places for morning after pill consultations.
The morning after pill was made available to patients from pharmacists without a prescription for the first time in February 2011.
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