An increasing number of Greek women are taking emergency contraceptives – known as the morning-after pill – to avoid unwanted pregnancies, while Greece has one of the lowest rates of women taking the regular contraceptive pill, scientists revealed yesterday.

The number of women taking the morning-after pill has increased to 27 percent from 20 percent, with 200,000 morning-after pills sold last year, experts said ahead of World Contraception Day today.

“Women are thoughtlessly using the morning-after pill, which is not a replacement for preventive contraception,” said Georgia Kovani of the Association of Midwives and Obstetricians. Gynecologists say 95 percent of woman who have graduated from secondary school have had at least one abortion. And just 3 percent of Greek women use the regular pill, compared to 45 percent in Northern Europe.