EMERGENCY CALL: A Nationwide Recall of Birth-Control Pills Was Issued Due to Error in Packaging

[Digilodger]

Ladies, if you are on birth control pills, then you might want to check whether what have been prescribed to you is in the list below. ASAP!


What Happened?
Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, an Alabama-based maker of generic drugs, is recalling its birth control pills because "a mistake in the factory put pills in the wrong places inside plastic packages." The bad news is that they still don't know how this has happened.

What Are the Risks?
Unintended pregnancy risks . . . because the ones that you've just taken may not have any effect at all. Good news is that according to their press release, this error does not pose any immediate health risk.

What to Do?
Supposedly the pharmacies should have contacted you to recall the pills, but if they haven't, check your birth control pills now! If it is is in the list of affected products, contact your health-care provide or your pharmacist ASAP.

Also, tell your moms/sisters/aunts/friends/etc. about this, too, if they still don't know.


(Click on the spoiler button to view list of affected products)

Spoiler:

Product Description ------------------ NDC Number***

Cyclafem 7/7/7 6x28 ----------------- 0603-7525-17
Cyclafem 7/7/7 ---------------------- 0603-7525-49
Cyclafem 1/35 6x28 ------------------ 0603-7521-17
Cyclafem 1/35 3x28 ------------------ 0603-7521-49
Emoquette 3x28 --------------------- 0603-7540-49
Emoquette 6x28 --------------------- 0603-7540-17
Gildess FE 1.5/30 -------------------- 0603-7608-17
Gildess FE 1/20 ---------------------- 0603-7609-17
Orsythia 3x28 ----------------------- 0603-7634-49
Orsythia 6x28 ----------------------- 0603-7634-17
Previfem ---------------------------- 0603-7642-17
Tri-Previfem ------------------------- 0603-7663-17


***NDC number: National Drug Code number. You can find this number somewhere on the packaging--very useful to identify your drug.

• the first set of 4 or 5 digits is the labeler code, which identifies the manufacturer or distributor of the drug,
• the next set of 3 or 4 digits is the product code, which identifies the drug, and
• the last set of 2 digits is the package code, which identifies the packaging size and type.

News via Endo Pharmaceuticals via NPR.

[MegaMadness]

Oh lovely :/

[Guile]

MORE CHILDREN! NOOOOEEEEZ!!!!

Ahh, anyway, it seems they just put them in the wrong spot inside the bag in the package...

Big deal? Not really.
Legal mess? Most certainly.

[bitesize]

Shit, scary times.

[Aletheia*]

Scary. Luckily, mine isn't on that list!

[Heartlines.]

Mine isn't on that least either.
I'm mostly interested in how this happened though.. and what they're going to ensure it doesn't happen again.

[Iridescence]

I can't remember what brand it was when I heard it on the news but this is like the 3rd recall for that brand since the beginning of the year. I know it's not something that can be helped all that much considering the factories are mostly machines and robots but all of the recalls (toys, medicine etc) needs to get a grip.

[ReluctantPegasister]

I'm ok, mine wasn't on there... wasn't like I was getting any, anyway.

[ShimmeringFaerie]

So did they just put the pills in the wrong part of the packaging, so some of the inactive pills were swapped with the active ones? Shouldn't the pills be different colours anyway, so women would have realised that they weren't taking the correct one?

In any case, I wonder how the company is going to handle the fall-out from this. It would be difficult to prove that someone got pregnant solely due to this company's mistake, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people tried.

[Digilodger]

Originally Posted by Guile

Big deal? Not really.
Legal mess? Most certainly.

I'm not sure whether it's a big deal or not, to be honest. I think it depends on whether you think unwanted or accidental pregnancy is a big deal or not.

Originally Posted by ShimmeringFaerie

So did they just put the pills in the wrong part of the packaging, so some of the inactive pills were swapped with the active ones? Shouldn't the pills be different colours anyway, so women would have realised that they weren't taking the correct one?

Here's what happened:

Select blister packs of the birth control pills were rotated 180 degrees within the card, which reverses the weekly tablet distribution. This packaging error could cause women to take pills in the incorrect order and could lead to unintended pregnancy.

Source: WebMD

[Guile]

Originally Posted by VoidZN

I'm not sure whether it's a big deal or not, to be honest. I think it depends on whether you think unwanted or accidental pregnancy is a big deal or not.

I can guarantee my Birth control will never fail, it's called "not getting any"