Name: Fact check: Is the birth control pill carcinogenic? | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-02-04T17:00:46.000Z
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Here is how coming off the contraceptive pill turned me into a lesbian.

Contraception is explicitly forbidden by the church.

Birth control pills actually change the diversity of our gut microbiome.

Viral claims about the birth control pill are flooding the Internet.

But there is one claim that keeps coming up and deserves a deeper dive.

Did you know that the birth control pill is now classified as a Class 1 carcinogenic?

That's the same as asbestos and cigarettes.

So is the bird control pill really carcinogenic?

But before we answer it, let's start with the basics.

Women produce several hormones essential for reproduction.

Among these, estrogen and progesterone play the most significant roles.

They control the menstrual cycle, support egg development, and prepare the body pregnancy.

While estrogen and progesterone occur naturally in the body, they're also key ingredients in many birth control pills.

There are two main types of oral contraceptives, combined pills.

These include both progestin and estrogen.

As the name suggests, they contain only progestin.

Both types work in several different ways.

By using those hormones to alter the reproductive system.

But how exactly does that happen inside the body?

We asked a gynecologist to break it down.

Contraception works by preventing ovulation, meaning no egg matures in the ovaries.

When girls are born, they already have millions of potential egg cells after they reach sexual maturity.

Typically, one egg is released per menstrual cycle.

One way how hormonal contraception works is by stopping this process.

Normally, the egg travels through the fallopian tubes.

Some birth control pills reduce the tube's ability to move the egg along, so even if an egg has matured, it won't be transported.

The third way is when pills reduce the build up of the uterine lining.

Normally, the lining allows a fertilized egg, which is fertilized in the fallopian tube, to nest and then develop.

In other words, the uterine lining is like a bed for the egg.

If that bed isn't there, the the fertilized egg can take hold even if it makes it past all the other barriers.

Some pills cause the mucus to change consistency, making it thicker and making it difficult for sperm to enter.

Now that we know how different contraceptives work, let's go back to the main concern.

Does the birth control pill cause cancer?

And what does the World Health Organization have to say about it.

Did the who just drank birth control pills as carcinogenic?

The WHO's Cancer Research Agency did classify the combined birth control pill, which contains estrogen and progestin, as a Group 1 carcinogen.

Despite what social media suggests, the classification was made decades ago, first outlined in a 1999 report nearly 27 years ago, and

But what does Group 1 carcinogen actually mean?

A Group 1 classification that means that according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the agent is classified as carcinogenic to humans.

So this is the strongest evidence that we have that the agent can cause cancer.

And so right now, after evaluating more than 1,000 agents in a 54 year history, there are 135 that are classified in Group 1 and included in that group, as you mentioned, tobacco, alcohol consumption, processed meat consumption, and

also the combined estrogen progesterogen contraceptive pill.

So yes, the combined birth control pill is listed in Group 1 as claimed by the social media users.

But is it as carcinogenic as alcohol, tobacco and asbestos?

The cancer hazard identification that we do at IARC does not determine the potency of the agent in terms of causing cancer.

So it should not be correct to assume that because two agents have both been classified in Group 1, the highest level of strength of evidence, that it means they are equally carcinogenic.

The WHO's cancer agency sorts substances by the strength of of the evidence, not by how deadly it is.

They check whether something can cause cancer, not how much exposure leads to cancer or how big the risk is.

So the claim that the birth control pill is as carcinogenic as alcohol, tobacco and asbestos is misleading.

A recent study from Uppsala University analyzed data from over 2 million women between 2006 and and 2019.

The research group analyzed both the combined and the progestin only pill.

They found a slight increase in breast cancer among women who were currently using or had recently used hormonal birth control.

In real terms, that equals about one extra case per 7,800 users each year.

Still, the researchers point out that this doesn't mean the pill caused this additional case of breast cancer, but

only that the two were seen together in the data.

So there is no evidence that the pill directly caused a slight increase in risk.

What they also found is that the risk varied based on the hormone formula, slightly higher for the progestin only pill compared to the combined one.

They also found out that a specific progestin like dysogestrel favors higher risk.

These findings are consistent with previous research and other studies.

But it is important to look at the bigger picture and to put the numbers in context when assessing the overall risk.

In fact, many protective effects can occur.

In every cycle, the lining builds up and is shed.

This constant buildup of cells cells is naturally prone to disruptions from external factors such as tobacco use.

Now, if you use the contraceptive pill, like the progestin only pill, it can reduce this process.

This means the repeated cycle of cell growth and shedding where cells could potentially change, doesn't happen.

So to sum up, studies show that certain hormones in the pill can slightly increase breast milk cancer risk, but

it also lowers the risk for other cancers like ovarian or endometrial cancer.

And remember, cancer risk isn't only about the Pill.

Less physical activity, more sitting and driving, smoking, being overweight.

All of these increase risks for conditions like thrombosis and cancer.

Before you worry, make sure you understand the facts and talk to your doctor.