A recent survey has shown that the Food and Drug Administration ruling that the medication could be sold to adults without a prescription has given women an easier and quicker access to the emergency ‘morning after’ Plan B contraceptive pill.

This pill consists of a high dose of progesterone, and works by preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg, or delaying its release. Unlike the "abortion pill," RU-146, it will not affect an existing pregnancy.

Dr. Rebekah E. Gee of the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine in Philadelphia and colleagues conducted a survey of pharmacies in Atlanta, Boston, and Philadelphia in 2005 and 2007 to investigate whether the rule change had any effect on the drug's availability. The first round of the survey included 1,087 pharmacies, while the second included 795.

The percentage of pharmacies unable to dispense Plan B within 24 hours reduced from 23 percent in 2005 to 8 percent in 2007. Only 2 percent of the pharmacists surveyed in 2007 said they would refuse to dispense the drug as compared to 4 percent in 2005.

Dr Rebekah E Gee said, “The sooner you take it the more effective it is which is why availability is so important.”

She added that Plan B is extremely safe, Gee noted, with nausea being the most common side effect. She said that she believes it should be available without a prescription to younger people as well. There's no evidence that use of Plan B leads to more intercourse or riskier behavior, even though some of its opponents have claimed that.