Excess placebo pills trigger Canada-wide recall of birth control pills

Health Canada has announced a nationwide recall of birth control pills as they contain too many placebo pills.

On June 4, Health Canada issued a recall for Seasonale , a brand of birth control pills produced by Canadian pharmaceutical company Teva Canada Ltd. The pills contain 0.15 mg of levonorgestrel and 0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol and come with three blister cards of pills. The package should contain three blister trays with one row of white placebo pills.

However, according to the advisory, the company is recalling two lots of Seasonale after receiving a complaint that a package of pills contained an extra row of white placebo pills where none should have been present.

“Taking placebo pills instead of active (pink) pills may reduce the effectiveness of the product and could lead