This image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseGroup shot of (left) a pack for Enovid
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.
Pack for Enovid, the first contraceptive pill, 1960-1962
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Pack for Enovid, the first contraceptive pill, 1960-1962
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Pack for Enovid, the first contraceptive pill, 1960-1962
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Bottle of Enovid tabs 10mg, early 1960s
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Calendar pack for Enovid, the first contraceptive pill (no tablets), bottle of Enovid tabs 10mg, early 1960s and physicians sample 1972, made by G D Searle and Co, Chicago, Illinois, USA, and prepared by G D Searle & Company Limited, High Wycombe, England
Pack for Enovid, the first contraceptive pil, invented by Dr. Min Cheuh Chang, Gregory Goodwin Pincus, and John Rock, and manufactured by G. D. Searle & Co., Chicago, United States, 1960-1962
Bottle of Enovid contraceptive tablets 10mg, made by G D Searle and Co, Chicago, Illinois, USA, and prepared by G D Searle & Company Limited, High Wycombe, England, 1961-1970 (see note)
In 1961, ‘Enovid’ became the first oral contraceptive pill approved for use in the United Kingdom. Birth control was something of a taboo subject before the 1960s. ‘The pill’ seemed an ideal contraceptive because it was effective but not messy, and it did not interfere with sex. However, the first pills had a far higher level of hormones than was required. This caused heart problems in some women. ‘The pill’ is now prescribed with far lower levels of hormones.
Physician's sample of Enovid, the first contraceptive pill, 1972
