In the past, women had up to 72 hours to take a morning after pill if they had unprotected sex in order to prevent pregnancy. The pill was more effective the sooner it was taken, but women had always been encouraged to use alternative methods of contraception and not rely solely on the morning after pill; it is intended as an emergency contraception, useful if a condom has split or if a girl has forgotten to take her daily contraceptive pill.

A new morning after pill called EllaOne has been designed, and it is effective for 5 days after sex; that’s 48 hours longer than what has been available. Plus, it’s more effective than previous versions reducing the small risk of a woman becoming pregnant after taking the pill. There are fears that the introduction of this could lead to a rise in sexually transmitted infections because people may think that they no longer require condoms. None of the morning after pills available give any protection whatsoever against STIs, only against pregnancy. There are also concerns that this may promote promiscuity.

The safety net provided by EllaOne could relax people’s attitude towards sex; women may no longer feel the need to carry condoms and could be less diligent about using them. Casual sex is already on the rise, and if attitudes do change in this way the figures could rise even further. Tower Hill escorts remain diligent regardless of the changes in contraceptive protection.

EllaOne was made available in October 2009, but at the moment it can only be obtained with a prescription. However, expects suspect that in the future it will become available over the counter like levonorgestrel, the current morning after pill.

It is said that sperm can live inside a woman’s body for up to 5 days after unprotected sex; EllaOne can reduce the chances of conceiving dramatically, reducing the risk by more than half compared to levonorgestrel. A worry of the new pill is that women who have had unprotected sex may delay going to the doctor, becoming more lazy in their attitudes towards casual sex because they think there is no risk. If there is any danger of unwanted pregnancy, a woman should see her GP as soon as possible.

Although the morning after pill is prescribed for free, EllaOne costs the NHS £16.96 for each tablet, which is three times as much as levonorgestrel.