Russians rushed for contraceptives – MK
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Despite the calls to give birth that sound from every iron, Russians are buying up contraceptives en masse. Analysts talk about a record growth in sales of drugs in this category over the past six years.
According to the analytics company DSM Group, sales of complex oral contraceptives have shown record growth over the past 6 years – and this trend is only intensifying. In the period from January to September, more than 20.7 billion rubles worth of contraceptives were sold in the country: the increase compared to the same period last year was 5%: over the 9 months of 2022, Russians bought 19.7 billion rubles worth of such products. Well, if we compare it with 2021, then in its first three quarters, compatriots spent 15.3 billion rubles in pharmacies on oral contraceptives. Sales of contraception, as DSM Group director Sergei Shulyak told MK, have increased not only in money, but also in packages. A similar trend is confirmed by another reputable analytical agency, RNC Pharma: according to their data, growth in volume terms (packages) amounted to 23.5% and 21% in monetary terms.
Why have Russians become wary of the topic of procreation? Of course, on the one hand, this can be explained by rising prices for this category of drugs: for example, according to members of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, the price over the past few months has increased by an average of 15%. But doctors confirm that over the past year, women have become more likely to use contraceptives.
Despite the calls to give birth that sound from every iron, Russians are buying up contraceptives en masse. Analysts talk about a record growth in sales of drugs in this category over the past six years.
According to the analytics company DSM Group, sales of complex oral contraceptives have shown record growth over the past 6 years – and this trend is only intensifying. In the period from January to September, more than 20.7 billion rubles worth of contraceptives were sold in the country: the increase compared to the same period last year was 5%: over the 9 months of 2022, Russians bought 19.7 billion rubles worth of such products. Well, if we compare it with 2021, then in its first three quarters, compatriots spent 15.3 billion rubles in pharmacies on oral contraceptives. Sales of contraception, as DSM Group director Sergei Shulyak told MK, have increased not only in money, but also in packages. A similar trend is confirmed by another reputable analytical agency, RNC Pharma: according to their data, growth in volume terms (packages) amounted to 23.5% and 21% in monetary terms.
Why have Russians become wary of the topic of procreation? Of course, on the one hand, this can be explained by rising prices for this category of drugs: for example, according to members of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, the price over the past few months has increased by an average of 15%. But doctors confirm that over the past year, women have become more likely to use contraceptives.
Recently, the authorities have been trying to increase the fertility rate in very strange and controversial ways. For example, the Ministry of Health recently proposed introducing restrictions on the sale of emergency contraception in pharmacies. They are used once after unprotected sexual intercourse, if pregnancy is not planned. From September 1, 2024, it was decided to prohibit pharmacies from dispensing a number of such drugs without presenting special prescriptions (the drugs misoprostol, mifepristone and cyclopentolate are included in the list of drugs subject to subject-quantitative accounting, along with hard drugs). However, many consumers decided that this had already happened and decided to stock up on long-term protection.
Obstetricians, gynecologists and reproductive specialists are perplexed by many of the latest initiatives. Especially the upcoming ban on commercial abortions. As the famous Russian obstetrician-gynecologist, head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology with a course of perinatology at the RUDN Medical Institute Viktor Radzinsky recently stated at the VII All-Russian scientific and practical seminar “Reproductive potential of Russia: versions and contraversions”, doctors remember very well what happened before 1955 (when in The USSR had a ban on abortion. – Author), – an increase in mortality from criminal abortions: “Is it worth repeating what has been done and stepping on the same rake?”
As gynecologist, WHO international expert in the field of reproductive health and family planning, member of the presidium of the European Society for Contraception and Reproductive Health Lyubov Erofeeva told MK, the increase in the use of contraception is indeed very noticeable: “And this is quite expected. I think this demand is largely due to the fact that women are frightened by discussions about the upcoming ban on abortion. And they decided to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy by any means, which I consider a good trend: it is better to take contraceptives than to have abortions. I only welcome effective contraception. The second reason is the fear that modern complex oral contraceptives, which are produced today by Western pharmaceutical companies, will disappear from pharmacies. And under the conditions of sanctions, it is difficult to say what can be expected tomorrow. Perhaps women decided to stock up, especially since prices are rising.”
Some experts say that the reason may be that after large Western manufacturers left the Russian condom market, Chinese “analogues” began to arrive in our country: however, they are small in size, designed for Asians. However, Lyubov Erofeeva considers this reason frivolous: “China and Malaysia are the main producers of condoms in the world. Believe me, they have long mastered the entire size range.”
And, of course, Russian women are already fed up with calls to give birth as much as possible and at any cost – we have long gone beyond the times when a woman was seen pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen. “I think persistent calls to give birth will set one’s teeth on edge: in the current situation this is not a very clear tactic, an ill-conceived and unreasonable strategy. The situation is unstable both economically and politically, many men are not around, a huge burden falls on the shoulders of women: calls to give birth now are simply untimely,” says Lyubov Erofeeva.
However, Sergei Shulyak, on the contrary, notes that the increase in demand for long-term hormonal contraceptives indicates a stabilization of the situation in the economy: “Today people have a more positive attitude and confidence in the future compared to 2022. During crises, the consumption of such drugs decreases: they are expensive, and not everyone can afford them.” However, the expert does not deny that women today plan pregnancy less often in the near future.
…Forcing Russians to give birth against their will, as practice shows, is not a good idea. Even if both abortion and contraception are banned in the country, people will figure out how not to do what they don’t want. After all, we still remember the stories of our great-grandmothers who performed abortions on themselves with a ficus leaf or a knitting needle.
Newspaper headline:
Law of protection
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