The pill that promised no periods is now associated with serious health risks, including sudden death.

The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan are warning consumers that Yasmin (also known as Yaz) birth control pills have been linked to serious side effects, including heart attack, stroke, and death. Yaz and Yasmin, as well as the generic equivalent Ocella, are daily oral contraceptives designed to prevent pregnancy.

Yasmin is one of the most popular oral contraceptives on the market, and it is the first type of birth control to contain a different kind of hormone, called drsp or drospirenone. Although the manufacturers of this drug claim that it is as safe as other types of accepted birth control pills on the market, drospirenone can increase the potassium levels of users. Increased potassium levels can cause health problems and are particularly dangerous for people with kidney, liver or adrenal disease. Serious side effects that have been linked to the use of Yaz/Yasmin birth control pills include:

1. Heart attack
2. Cardiac arrhythmia
3. Blood clot
4. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
5. Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
6. Stroke
7. Gallbladder disease
8. Benign liver tumor
9. Sudden death

Risk factors for these side effects include preexisting heart or cardiovascular problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Less serious side effects of Yaz/Yasmin include upper respiratory infection, headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, vaginitis, urinary tract infection, intermenstrual bleeding, dizziness and pain.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has repeatedly reprimanded Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals (the manufacturers of Yaz/Yasmin) for marketing this drug in a way that minimizes these serious side effects and misleads women about the safety of this new type of birth control. However, the drug has not yet been recalled by the FDA or by its manufacturer.