Yaz Promotions Misleading, Popular Birth Control Pill Carries Serious Risks

The birth control pill, Yaz, has been potentially linked to an array of very serious side effects, including strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks. The medication has also been at the root of a misleading marketing campaign that moved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a warning letter to the maker of Yaz, the Germany-based Bayer. As a result, Bayer was mandated to stop running the ads and to fix the bogus campaign; the new campaign was implemented this past February.

The correction was made, and Bayer did agree to submit future Yaz ads for federal screening prior to release; however, the changes were made too late for some women who believed the false claims. Of note, although the FDA has had drug makers pull false ad campaigns in the past, it does not generally mandate corrective action such as what was demanded in the case with Bayer’s Yaz marketing. Likely, the agency made the move because Yaz brand’s popularity required such a significant step.

Not only did the original campaign include false claims about Yaz’ benefits, it minimized the drugs more serious side effects, such as potentially fatal blood clots. Millions of women took Yaz without full and true knowledge of the myriad health risks and potentially deadly side effects connected with its use. We may never know how many women suffered blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks, believing false Yaz claims.

Bayer should be accountable for deceptive Yaz advertising that potentially endangered countless women. The corrective campaign began running this January, but by that time, Yaz had become one of the most popular birth control pills on the market. By 2007, its sales had reached a massive $616 million.

Many women likely chose Yaz because of Bayer’s marketing, which minimized serious risks, while touting benefits. The false promises and misleading advertising have led to many lawsuits being filed nationwide and many more expected. Women involved in such lawsuits have claimed that they suffered from serious ailments including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. The birth control has also been allegedly associated with heart attacks and deaths in young women.

Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount that Yaz carries serious health risks. Containing the synthetic progestin called drospirenone, Yaz is not without issues. The FDA has said that drospirenone can lead to hyperkalemia, a condition caused by excessive potassium in the blood; in some, hyperkalemia may result in potentially serious heart and health problems. Yaz is a combination birth control pill that contains estrogen and progestin and is considered a low-dose pill because it contains .035 milligrams or less of estrogen.

In order for Yaz users to avoid high potassium levels, blood tests should be drawn every few months. Most women who take Yaz don’t know about taking these blood tests because the instructions to take the tests are given in a small package insert with the birth control, literature few people ever read.

To find out more about the adverse reactions reported in women taking Yaz, and other important information regarding other Yaz side effects, as well as information on consumer rights regarding injury as a result of taking Yaz, this site offers good information and options.