The use of contraceptives, especially the birth control pill, has always been low in Italy compared to other EU countries.
(Photo: imago images/MiS)
Rome In Italy, women of all ages will be able to take birth control pills free of charge. A committee of the Italian medicines agency Aifa decided late Friday evening to include the contraceptive pill in the list of freely available drugs, the president of the expert panel, Giovanna Scroccaro, said in an interview with the health portal Quotidiano Sanità.
Within three categories of contraceptives, the authority evaluated the cheapest products that are to be made available free of charge in the future. The total costs for the state coffers are estimated at around 140 million euros per year.
According to Scroccaro, this should particularly appeal to women who have previously avoided this type of contraception for cost reasons. “This is an important decision that allows us to expand the target group of women who today may find these contraceptives too expensive and therefore not using them,” said Scroccaro. The use of contraceptives, especially the birth control pill, has always been low in Italy compared to other EU countries.
The so-called “pre-exposure prophylaxis” (PrEP) for HIV prevention should also be free of charge in the future. This is a drug commonly used to treat HIV. HIV-negative people take the drug to prevent themselves from contracting the virus. According to Scroccaro, prevention is far cheaper than treating an infection.
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