After 10 years: has approval of oral contraceptives really decreased the rate of unintended pregnancy in Japan?

摘要

Ten years has passed since low-dose combined oral contraceptives (OC) were approved for marketing by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan. OC was first requested to be licensed in Japan in 1965; however, the ministry did not permit approval because of the side effects and potential public moral hazard. However, middle-dose combined estrogen and progestin pills had been used as an off-label drug for contraceptive purposes before the approval of low-dose OC.