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Thursday January 16, 2003
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ACNE MEDICATION/ BIRTH CONTROL PILL MARKETED IN CANADA WITH DEADLY RESULT
TORONTO, January 16, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Diane-35, a drug permitted in Canada to treat severe acne is also being widely prescribed as a birth control pill. The abortifacient drug, was one of the first prescription drugs allowed to be actively marketed in Canada. Slick ads with sexual innuendo were shown on television and movie theatres, but the ads left the medication's exact purpose up to the imagination. Following the ads, the makers of the drug saw Canadian sales shoot up 45 percent in one year alone, and more than 800,000 prescriptions for it were written last year.
CBC's Disclosure program investigated the matter finding that the drug, which was mandated by Health Canada not to be prescribed as primarily birth control, was nevertheless being prescribed as such by doctors and gynecologists. Berlex Canada, the drug's Canadian distributors, are currently under investigation by Health Canada.
Diane-35's use is restricted in Europe where it was first allowed as a double action birth control pill and acne medication. An inquest in England confirmed that the drug helped cause a blood clot that killed a young woman named Melanie Pyke. Currently it is permitted in Europe as in Canada only to treat severe acne.
CBC reports that a coroner has confirmed that the death of young Ottawa woman Catherina Agelidis could be linked to Diane-35.
See the CBC Disclosure coverage:
http://cbc.ca/disclosure/archives/030114_diane/main.html
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