What now seems a popular grocery item for female college students, "morning after" pills fly off the shelves at local Oxford pharmacies and Miami University's Student Health Services (SHS).
Some morning after pills, or emergency contraceptives, available in the United States without a prescription for men and women 17 or older include Plan B, Plan B One Step and Next Choice, according to the Office of Population Research at Princeton University.
A sophomore at Miami (who asked to remain anonymous) said she has purchased Plan B twice in her three semesters at school. She said the first time was because she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend. The second time she said that she was sexually assaulted the previous night.
One anonymous junior said she has also used Plan B twice.
"The first time the condom broke and then the other time I just thought it was a good idea to have unprotected sex," the junior said.
She said the first time she bought it and the second her boyfriend purchased it for her.
Walgreen's pharmacy had sold a total of 142 emergency contraceptives in the last 12 weeks, according to Scott, a Walgreens pharmacist, who asked not to reveal his last name.
Scott said sales increase significantly in the third week of August when Miami students return to Oxford.
Of the sales since Miami's fall 2009 semester, 102 were Plan B and 40 were Next Choice. Plan B was FDA approved in July 1999, according to Plan B's Web site. Next Choice was FDA approved August 2009.
"(We) go with Next Choice when we run out of Plan B," Scott said.
Julie, another pharmacist at Walgreens, said most sales are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays after the "Miami weekend."
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Nick, a pharmacist at CVS Oxford who preferred his last name be kept anonymous, could not give exact numbers, but estimated between five and 50 emergency contraceptives are sold in an average weekend during the school year. Nick said sales were mostly to female customers.
According to Nick, CVS asks customers if they are taking birth control pills before selling the customer emergency contraceptives.
"There's no reason to take the Plan B if you're not missing birth control (pills)," he said. "It works in the same capacity. A lot ofpeople don't realize that."
Nick said he thought emergency contraceptives were helpful, even though not necessary in all cases.
"It's definitely helpful," Nick said. "Fifty percent of the time they don't even need it, they're just being paranoid."
Emergency contraceptives can be sold to men and women 17 or older without a prescription. For consumers under 17, a prescription is needed from a doctor.
"It's definitely useful to have," Scott said. "I think it's almost like an easy way out. Before you had to be a lot more careful, otherwise (there was) nothing."
The student health center has sold 20 Plan B packs since the first of July, according to Mary Poppendeck, student health center pharmacist. Emergency contraceptive sales, like all other medications, are billed to a student's bursar account, where it does not specify what the medication is because of privacy laws.
Katie Martin, pharmaceutical technician at SHS, suggested sales may not be as high either because students don't know that the pharmacy sells it, or that the hours are limited for this time-sensitive medication.
Prices range from $39.95 before tax at SHS to as much as $51.52 at Oxford's Wal-Mart pharmacy. Kroger sells Plan B for $44.99 before tax, Walgreen's sells it for $49.99, and CVS sells a generic form of Plan B for $39.99.
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