About a month ago, I warned you about an avalanche of lawsuits filed in recent years against four drugs -- one of them being Johnson & Johnson's birth control patch Ortho Evra. Unlike Merck's legal strategy of fighting Vioxx publicly and one case at a time, however, Johnson & Johnson has already settled a dozen lawsuits privately and approached attorneys representing other plaintiffs. Johnson & Johnson is an expert at damage control and the way they handled cyanide-tampered Tylenol in the '80s is taught in a number of business schools as a top example of how to address negative PR. You should also know that Johnson & Johnson owns McNeil Nutritionals, which manufactures Splenda. They are applying similar skills in the way they are quietly doing damage control to keep women in the dark about a product they should never use, particularly when there are safer birth control alternatives available, including: Male condoms: Condoms have a 98 percent effectiveness rate when used correctly. A water-based lubricant will increase the effectiveness; do not use an oil-based lubricant, however, as they break the latex. Female condoms: These thin, soft polyurethane pouches fitted inside the vagina before sex are 95 percent effective. Female condoms are less likely to tear than male condoms. Diaphragm: Diaphragms, which must be fitted by a doctor, act as a barrier to sperm. When used correctly with spermicidal jellies, they are 92 percent to 98 percent effective. Cervical cap: This heavy rubber cap fits tightly against the cervix and can be left in place for 48 hours. Like the diaphragm, a doctor must fit the cap. Proper fitting enhances the effectiveness above 91 percent. Spermicides: Creams, jellies and suppositories contain chemicals that kill sperm. While they can increase the effectiveness of other forms of contraception listed here, I don't recommend using them alone. Other natural methods to scientifically check your fertility also exist. Additionally, any of the above methods can be combined with natural family planning, in which the woman charts her cycle by regularly monitoring her first morning oral temperatures with an accurate thermometer, and also checks her cervical mucous for appearance and "ferning" patterns. If these two methods are combined, then their effectiveness approaches that of birth control pills. Drugs are unnecessary for almost every illness, problem, or concern for which they are prescribed. It's not hard to understand why they still get prescribed anyway, however; the industries that make the drugs and medical technologies wish to continue to sell them. There are currently no plans to pull the Ortho Evra patch off the shelves despite the high risk. If medicine instead focused on lifestyle changes like proper diet, regular exercise, and natural and barrier birth control, vast numbers of Americans would no longer need or want to purchase the drugs the pharmaceutical industry desperately wishes to continue to sell.