Record spike in emergency morning after pill sales in the US expected after New Year celebrations this year

A study shows that the number of morning-after pills sold in the week after New Year's Eve is expected to rise by tens of thousands.

Researchers in Texas analyzed data on sales of the drugs at pharmacies, supermarkets and military stores from 2016 to 2022 to uncover the trend.

They found that 41,000 more Morning After pills, which contain the hormone levonorgestrel to prevent pregnancy, were sold during the period compared to average, along with smaller increases after Valentine's Day, Independence Day and St. Patrick's Day.

Scientists suggested this was because people were more likely to have sex during the New Year period without using any form of contraception, which could be due to an increase in alcohol consumption.

They called their data a “warning sign” and said there may be an “unmet need” in states where access to birth control and reproductive rights are stricter.

Moreover, it's possible that stricter abortion restrictions in some states could boost record sales of the drug next year as people turn to it to prevent pregnancy.

The graph above shows the number of morning-after pills sold per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. The data is shown as the week after New Year's Eve (purple dot) and the average (yellow dot). It is also broken down by year

The morning-after pill works by stopping or delaying the release of an egg from the ovary to prevent it from being fertilized by sperm, thus preventing pregnancy.

Research shows that sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for up to five days after intercourse.

The drug is most effective if taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.

Within this time frame it reduces the chance of pregnancy by 75 percent.

The drug is available without a prescription and is swallowed as a pill with water.

For their paper, published in the BMJresearchers looked at sales data collected by Circana Inc – which tracks US sales for 7,000 brands.

The data was broken down by week, with researchers then comparing data from the week after New Year's Eve to weeks across the year.

To calculate the usage rate, sales figures were compared to the size of the female population aged 15 to 44.

It showed that sales of the drug increased by 0.63 units per 1,000 women in the week after New Year compared to normal – an increase of 10 percent.

The second largest increase was seen in the week after Valentine's Day – where sales increased by 0.31 per 1,000 – or five percent compared to normal.

Independence Day saw the third largest increase, with an increase of 0.2 per 1,000, and St. Patrick's Day came in fourth, with an increase of 0.14 per 1,000.

The researchers said that as many US states had increased restrictions on abortion, their data was “indicative of an unmet need for contraceptives that warrants further attention.”

“Now more than ever, emergency contraception is a critically important option for people in the U.S., especially those living in regions with abortion bans or severe restrictions,” they wrote in the paper.

The above shows abortion pill sales per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in the US and highlights sales during celebrations throughout the year

“Future work will examine how other dynamics at play in the U.S. context, including state abortion restrictions, influence emergency contraception purchasing behavior and implicate potential public health interventions to provide contraceptive care to those who need it most.”

Fourteen states have so far completely banned abortion, while another seven states have placed restrictions on the procedure.

In three states – Iowa, Montana and Wyoming – abortion bans have been blocked by judges.

Republican states are leading the charge to ban abortions, but polls show they repeatedly misread the public mood.

Eighty-five percent of Americans say abortion should be legal, according to major pollster Gallup, while only 13 percent say it should be illegal.