FDA panel: Some birth control pills should carry stronger warning labels

Dec 9 2011

An FDA panel decided Thursday that two popular birth control pills should come with stronger warning labels about the possibility of blood clots.

The New York Times: More Detail On Risk Urged For A Contraceptive Label
Labels on the popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin should be strengthened to include more information about the possibility that the pills could lead to greater risk of blood clots in women, an advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. The panel, which voted 21 to 5 in favor of changing the labels, stopped short of recommending that they warn that the drugs are more likely than other contraceptive pills to cause blood clots (Belluck, 12/8).

The Washington Post: Stronger Warnings Urged On Safety Of New Birth Control Pills
After a day-long hearing, two Food and Drug Administration advisory committees, meeting together, voted 15 to 11 that the benefits of the pills in preventing unwanted pregnancies outweighed the risks. But the panels voted 21 to 5 that the current labels fail to adequately warn of the dangers, and they urged the agency to require stronger admonitions (Stein, 12/8).