Poll: Should the morning-after pill be available for sale to under 16s?
The morning-after pill has been officially licensed for use by girls under the age of 16 for the first time.
The drug, called ellaOne, can be effective up to five days after sex, and will be available across the country to girls under the age of consent.
Under the licence from the European Medicines Agency, it is available for use by any woman of reproductive age in Europe.
Up until now, certain pharmacies have been allowed to supply teenagers with emergency contraception such as Levonelle, which works up to three days after unprotected sex.
The move has been welcomed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), which says it will enable greater access to a type of emergency contraception that is effective for longer than the option that is currently available.
RPS president Ash Soni said: "The most important thing to know about emergency contraception is that it is most effective the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex.
