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HealthGlobal issues

Fact check: Online claims link contraceptives to cancer

07:45

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February 4, 2026

Social media accounts are linking birth control pills to an increased risk of developing cancer. They say that swallowing an oral contraceptive could be as deadly as smoking. The science is more complicated than that.

Confusing, alarming, even scary — viral claims about oral contraceptives are flooding the internet. 

One repeated claim in particular deserves a deeper dive.

Here is our DW fact check.
 

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