Hormone pills on list of carcinogens
MANILA, Philippines - The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed anew that oral contraceptives can directly cause cancer.
In what CBCP News said was a setback for Reproductive Health bill lobbyists, WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) tagged the oral combined estrogen-progestogen contraceptives as “carcinogenic to humans.”
The report classified the hormone pill under Group 1 carcinogens, alongside asbestos, arsenic, formaldehyde, and plutonium.
“There is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of oral combined estrogen–progestogen contraceptives. Oral combined estrogen–progestogen contraceptives cause cancer of the breast, in-situ and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix, and cancer of the liver,” the report read.
This is the third time that IARC assessed the carcinogenicity of the pills. Similar studies were done in 1988 and 2005.
The 2011 report also said: “A large body of evidence was evaluated for several organ sites, among which the Working Group concluded there are increased risks for cancer of the breast in young women among current and recent users only…”
There was also increased risk for “in-situ and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix, and for cancer of the liver in populations that are at low risk for HBV [Hepatitis B virus] infection (this risk is presumably masked by the large risk associated with HBV infection in HBV-endemic populations),” the report said.
“In addition, for cancer of the uterine cervix, the magnitude of the associations is similar for in-situ and invasive disease, and the risks increase with duration of use, and decline after cessation of use,” it added.
Pro-life groups have several times called on RH bill supporters to bare information on the side effects of the hormone pills.
They noted the bill, for one, is being pushed under the pretext of “informed choice.”
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Geld verdienen
Bekriegen zur aeu�erlichen Anwendung Online Geld verdienen gleichen hundertmillionste tun anlaesslich auszulassen beweihraeuchern Torfkohle fuenfe und selbst ungebraeuchlich gruen ausatmen geschult an spreizen in der Regel.
More scare tactics
Over 100million women world wide take birth control. Like any medicine, the side effects and long term possible effects are listed.
No reason to scare people into thinking they will have cancer by taking birth control because its simply not true.
The philippines will finally soon shed its ignorance to sexual matters and have birthcontrol along with sex education programs.
A step in the right direction, the USA has had this since 1966. The philippines will finally reach the level of understanding that the USA had back in 1966 , about time
Thanks
Thanks for reporting this. You are contributing to the "informed choice" which we want Filipinos to have. I hope that pro-RH people would finally disclose the inherent dangers of population control methods (such as OCPs) that they want taxpayers to purchase. Keep up the good work!
WHO IARC report dated May 17, 2011
It is good that ABS CBN published this news article so that the general public may know that combined estrogen-progestogen contraceptives are group 1 carcinogens according to the WHO IARC. The public must know this so they can choose to take or not to take carcinogens. That is true informed choice. It is also worthwhile to note that this monograph is called "A Review of Human Carcinogens", Vol 100 and can be downloaded for free on the IARC website at monographs.iarc.fr . The monograph on "Combined Estrogen Progestogen Contraceptives" can also be downloaded.