Beyaz – Putting lipstick on a pig?

Beyaz, a new contraceptive released by Bayer HealthCare, most likely has the very same harmful side effects as Yaz and Yasmin because, well, Beyaz has essentially the same ingredients as Yaz and Yasmin. There’s an added daily dose of folate, a B vitamin, among other relatively insignificant additions to the formulation.

Where is the need for Beyaz if it contains same ingredients as Yaz?

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals has been misrepresenting the dangers (and the “benefits”) of their Yaz and Yasmin birth control products for a long time now. For some reason, Bayer has released a new contraceptive product called Beyaz that incorporates minor modifications that, not surprisingly, don’t come close to addressing the serious detrimental side effects of the original drugs Yaz and Yasmin. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the difference between Beyaz and Yaz is the introduction of the folic acid vitamin B9, which is necessary to help prevent preeclampsia and spina bifidia birth defects in pregnancies. Astoundingly, this is a safeguard to ensure that a baby is born without defects in case of unintended pregnancy, despite the intended purpose of the birth control drug in the first place.

Yaz side effects are ongoing and still dangerous

What is the justification for this “new” product? Can you just imagine the corporate meetings at Bayer that precipitated this travesty? “Rather than address the faults of our original product, let’s re-package it as a new product with a catchy yet similar name. And in case it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, we’ll add a vitamin to help prevent birth defects.” It’s just amazing that Beyaz exists at all.

Yaz and Yasmin are still causing gall bladder disease, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, strokes, and heart attacks in unsuspecting women. Why does Bayer think the consumer is going to believe Beyaz is going to be any different when the base ingredients are identical? The introduction of folic acid can’t do any harm, but it doesn't do any good unless the birth control part doesn't work! And it certainly does nothing to alleviate the ever-increasing number of health issues that women are suffering from when taking these birth control products.

Where’s the recall? Why is Yaz still being sold?

For some reason, the FDA has approved this new birth control formulation. But there’s no reason to think that it doesn't have all the risks that are present in Yaz and Yasmin. Despite the numerous Yaz lawsuits, there’s still no indication that a Yaz recall is on the horizon anytime soon. Perplexing indeed.

Beyaz serious risk acknowledged

There’s a minor victory however; at least now Bayer clearly describes the most serious risks of Beyaz use on their official website, covering the damaging side effects such as blood clots, stroke and heart attack, and even mentioning that risks of blood clots are highest during the first year of use. But this is not enough. Since the product is clearly dangerous, why is it being sold in the first place?