More than one in five teenage girls have used the morning-after pill as emergency contraception, according to a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Up from one in 12 sexually active girls a decade ago, the increase in use among teens is likely a result of the lifting of restrictions like prescription
requirements and age limits, according to The Associated Press. The morning-after pill is currently available over the counter for all teens.
The CDC report also showed little change in the popularity of different kinds of birth control used by teen girls who are sexually active. Nearly all the respondents said they had used condoms before, while more than half have been on a birth control pill, the AP noted.
The morning-after pill findings indicate that "teens, like adults, often are not very good at contraception . . . In the battle between sex and sex with contraception, sex often wins," said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
The morning-after pill, which has a greater amount of the female hormone progestin than is in regular birth control pills, reduces the risk of pregnancy by 90 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, according to the AP.
In 2006, only teens 18 and older could purchase the morning-after pill over the counter. Two years ago, that age limitation was lifted. The drug usually costs anywhere from $35 to $50.
The CDC survey was based on interviews with around 2,000 people ages 15 to 90 between the years of 2011 to 2013.