Concern about the venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk of new hormonal contraceptive options shortly after their entry into the market has triggered a number of pill scares', each of which resulted in panic stopping of the formulations in question and a spike in unplanned pregnancies, yet with no subsequent reduction in VTE rates among women of reproductive age. What followed was an international pill scare when regulatory authorities in a number of countries issued alerts about the possible increased risk of VTE with third generation pills