PLAN B NOW OVER THE COUNTER.

Byline: Kelly Puente and Ryan Ritchie Staff Writers

BARR Pharmaceuticals Inc. finally began to ship its morning-after pill labeled for over-the-counter sales this month.

The emergency contraceptive became available in Southern California Rite-Aid stores as of Nov. 17, said spokeswoman Jody Cook. The pills cost $39.99, the same as the prescription version, and will be available to anyone over the age of 18.

Mike DeAngelis, manager of Corporate Communications for CVS Pharmacy, said the company will offer the pill in all of its stores nationwide.

Plan B contains the hormone levonorgestrel, the same hormone that's in birth control pills but in a larger dose. It works like a regular birth control pill, preventing pregnancy by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. It may also prevent the fertilization of an egg, according to the Plan B Web site.

Plan B comes in a two-pill pack. The first tablet should be taken as soon as possible within 72 hours after unprotected sex. The second tablet should be taken 12 hours after the first.

The pills are for use in preventing an unplanned pregnancy and are not effective for a woman who is already pregnant.

``We have a few concerns about Plan B being available over-the-counter,'' says Walgreen pharmacist John Vinje, whose Long Beach store sells the pills for $43.99. ``We're concerned that the spread of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) could worsen because young people could see this as a replacement for condoms.''

Vinje says it's also a concern that anyone over the age of 18, man or woman, can purchase the pill without consultation with a pharmacist.

The Food and Drug Administration has granted Barr three years to sell Plan B without competition from makers of generic drugs -- so-called regulatory exclusivity -- in exchange for conducting simple studies, including tests of how consumers use the emergency contraceptive and how they read and understand the new label.

Diedtra Henderson of the Boston Globe contributed to this story.