An investigation has found that the morning after pill is being sold on eBay for as little as five pounds.
According to the Daily Mail, the emergency contraception, which should only be available in the UK from doctors, pharmacists and at sexual health clinics, was widely available for purchase on the auction website without any consultation by a medical professional required.
Delivery was stated to take up to two weeks, despite the fact that even the pill that you can take the longest after sex (ellaOne) is only effective if it's taken during the 120 hours after sex.
The investigators purchased three packets which came from Sri Lanka, Poland and the USA. The only information they were required to enter were credit card details.
Sexual health experts have warned of the dangers of this saying that purchasers cannot be sure of what they are buying. Dr Kate Guthrie, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said, 'You are playing roulette with what you are swalllowing. We have concerns about any drugs bought on the internet as you don't know what it is.'
Others have concerns about the impact of having the drug so readily available, without having to go through a doctor, particularly when it comes to young girls who may not be educated in how the pill works or it's potential consequences.
Norman Wells from the Family Education Trust charity said, 'The easier it becomes to obtain the morning after pill without a proper medical consultation, the greater the risk to vulnerable teenage girls. With no questions asked about previous medical history or previous use of the drug, there is a very real danger that it could be misued or over used. The health risks to women who use the morning after pill repeatedly over a period of time are not known.'
A spokesperson for eBay claimed that the pills were being sold by mistake and they 'immediately rectified' the problem by removing these listings.
Here's hoping they don't pop up again.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.