Yaz Gets a New Feature and a New Name
Bayer, the makers of the popular yet controversial Yaz/Yasmin birth control pills, has just rolled out a new pill that is essentially exactly the same as Yaz but with one new feature — and a new name.
Yaz/Yasmin has come under fire a lot because of the increased risks the drug poses to women who take it. These risks include heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Yaz also is one of the birth control pills that contain drospirenone, which is said to be the cause of the adverse side effects. With many lawsuits being filed against Bayer because of Yaz and Yasmin's adverse affects, many thought that the popular drug would be pulled from the market the same way that GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia was. However, Bayer stubbornly refused to take Yaz/Yasmin off the shelves. Instead, the company came up with something else.
Bayer's new birth control pill, called Beyaz, recently was approved by the FDA. The new pill contains a folate (folic acid) supplement, which is a nutrient that many foods contain naturally (vitamin B9). Vitamin B9 is a drug that helps prevent birth defects like spina bifida and preeclampsia in pregnant women. Adding folate to the new birth control pill is designed to help the mother stock up on the much-needed nutrient so that she has a head start should she become pregnant since birth control pills can't be 100 percent effective.
While this new addition to the Beyaz pill seems wonderful, it has many people wondering if this is just Bayer's effort to get everyone's mind off of the extreme danger that Yaz/Yasmin has proven to put women in. What must be understood, however, is that while Beyaz does have a few changes in it, the drug is still just a dressed-up version of Yaz. This means that the drug still has the potential to pose the same adverse side effects as the original Yaz. In the end, only time will tell, but women should pause before taking this "new" Beyaz, since it is just Yaz with B9 in it.
