Women's trials: the approval of the first oral contraceptive pill in the United States and Great Britain.

O N  June  the United States celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the approval of Enovid, the first oral contraceptive.1 From the time of the first clinical trials to the present, nearly  million women have swallowed various formulations of the contraceptive pill, making it one of the most widely consumed class of drugs in the world. By the end of the twentieth century oral contraceptives had become a feature of everyday life, with more than  million women reaching for their pill packet on a daily basis around the globe.2 Widely regarded as a revolutionary drug in its early years, the pill might retrospectively be considered the first “designer” or “lifestyle” drug of the twentieth century. As with many drug firsts, many lessons can be learned from its development and use. Indeed, as we argue in this essay, the pill played a significant role in reshaping pharmacology, social perceptions of