Yaz and Yasmin are best-selling oral contraceptive products produced by pharmaceutical giant Bayer.
Bayer’s Yaz family of oral contraceptives, which include drospirenone (drsp) and ethynylestradiol (EE) in their formulation, recorded sales of $1.74 billion in 2009.
Yaz and Yasmin did not originate with Bayer but became the property of the company when it bought German pharmaceutical company Berlex Laboratories, which originally developed the two contraceptives.
Yaz and Yasmin were unique because they were the first contraceptives to use the hormone drsp, which results in less breast tenderness and water retention as well as reducing acne outbreaks.
Because of these effects, Bayer marketed Yaz as not just a pill for preventing pregnancy, but also a lifestyle pill since it could also alleviate the symptoms of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and treat moderate acne. PMDD is a form of PMS suffered by some women in which they experience symptoms such as irritability or severe depression prior to menstruation. Yaz and Yasmin both contain 3 mg of drsp per tablet although Yaz contains 20 mcg of EE and Yasmin 30 mcg of EE. EE is a synthetic estrogen that is used in nearly all modern combined oral birth control pills.
Yaz and Yasmin work by convincing your body that ovulation has already occurred, preventing an egg from ripening and being released from the ovaries every month.
The EE and drsp in Yaz and Yasmin also cause the thickening of the mucus at the neck of the womb so that the sperm would not be able to penetrate the vagina as well as changing the quality of the womb lining so that it would be less likely that a fertilized egg would take hold there. Because of this variety of effects, Bayer advertises that Yaz and Yasmin are virtually 100% effective in preventing pregnancy.
Yaz and Yasmin differ in the way that they are sold.
Yaz is sold in packages of 24 active pills and four placebos while a pack of Yasmin has 21 active tablets and seven placebos. The placebos included with Yaz and Yasmin are intended to help the woman alleviate the symptoms she may be feeling while taking the pills as well as to remind her how long she has to stop taking the contraceptives before starting again.
Yaz and Yasmin should not be used in women with risk factors for blood clots such as a family history and certain blood disorders such as antiphospholipid syndrome since contraceptive products containing drsp have been linked to an increase in the risk of developing blood clots. In addition, contraindications for Yaz and Yasmin include women who have moderate to severe hypertension, high cholesterol levels, angina, heart valve disease and severe diabetes. In addition, Yaz and Yasmin should not be used by women who are already, or suspect they are, pregnant, breastfeeding, heavy smokers (more than 40 cigarettes a day), over fifty and have a history of breast cancer.
Yaz and Yasmin should be used with caution for women who are over 35 years of age, obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure, smoke, have a history of either depression or migraines, and have an immediate family member who have had a stroke caused by a blood clot or had a heart attack before 45.
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