Keisha Hill, Gleaner Writer

Today is World Contraception Day … it was organised by the European Society of Contraception in September 2007. There concern is that 85 per cent of teenage pregnancies are unplanned and every year millions of people get infected with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because they do not know how to protect themselves. On World Contraception Day, organisers stress the importance of contraception.

Senior vice-president for Global Strategic Marketing for Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Dr Philip Smits, who has worked extensively with various organisations, was in the island yesterday to coincide with the celebratory activities.

"World Contraceptive Day was born out of the need to educate persons on the objectives of and the methods of contraceptives available. This is something that we take seriously as a leader in the field of contraception," Smits said.

Smits spoke to journalists, health-care practitioners, pharmacists and customers about contraceptive needs, the benefits associated with oral contraceptives, as well as the risks and myths associated with the usage of contraceptives.

The doctor, who is from Holland, was trained as an internist at the Medical Centre Alkmaar of Holland. He has also worked in the evaluation of the benefits and risks of combined hormonal contraceptives. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and has exhibited at numerous worldwide scientific activities on this topic.

The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth-control pill or simply the Pill, is a birth-control method that includes a combination of an oestrogen and a progestogen.

When taken by mouth every day, these pills inhibit female fertility. They were first approved for contraceptive use in the United States in 1960, and are a very popular form of birth control.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com