Girls as young as 14 are routinely taking the morning-after pill to avoid becoming pregnant, ignoring dangers posed by HIV/Aids through unprotected sex, according to a survey by the Sunday Nation and other research.

Then they seek the emergency contraceptive, and if that fails, they go for illegal abortions, new research shows.

The teenage girls constitute part of the growing demand for the anti-pregnancy pill due to a surge in casual and unprotected sex among young people.

But the morning-after pills are only 85 per cent effective, and there are many fakes on the market, leading to the rising demand for abortions, which are illegal.

The majority of clients who provide the bulk of weekend business for pharmacies across the country are females between 15 and 30.

But some are as young as 14 -- and a sizable number of those seeking abortions are 14 to 19, the research shows.

The pills -- called Morning-After or Plan B by their users -- are the most sought after over-the-counter drugs in pharmacies throughout Nairobi during weekends and on Monday mornings, according to a survey by the Sunday Nation.

Most of those who seek the pill either go to college or are starting their first jobs, according to statistics released by the Population Council.

They told researchers from the non-governmental organisation that their biggest fear after having unprotected, unplanned sex was not contracting the virus that can lead to Aids but becoming pregnant.

Unwanted pregnancies lead to the thousands of backstreet abortions in the country every year.

Sixteen per cent of all reported abortion cases involved girls between 14 and 19 years, according to a new joint report by the ministry of Health, the Kenya Medical Association, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA-K), and International Projects Assistance Services (IPAS).

Fourteen per cent of those involved in reported cases of botched abortions said they had been taking contraceptives before they conceived.

The researchers found out in the 2003 study that 300,000 abortions were performed in Kenya each year -- that's about 800 abortions and seven abortion-related deaths each day.

"The general misconception is that the emergency contraceptive pills can be substitutes for family planning methods. The pills themselves have an 85 per cent success rate and do not guarantee safety from pregnancy," said Wilson Liambila, a programme officer at the Population Council.Data from the Council also shows that the users have some income and are either college students or newly employed.

Mr Liambila also said that although the emergency contraceptive pills are still uncommon for many women living in the countryside, those who do know about them and live in towns use them together with other family planning methods, which Mr Liambila said could be dangerous.

Of those who used the morning-after pill, 70 per cent did so with other contraceptives while the remaining 30 per cent choose them as their only contraception.

"What the women need to understand is that these pills should not be used as a substitute for other family planning methods. Excessive use, just like any other drug, has side effects," he said.

Despite the fact that many women in towns do not know about the morning- after pills, those who do know might be misusing them.

Pharmacist Evelyne Okanya of Nairobi said, "More than half the clients we get in our pharmacies on weekends come in for the pills. This shows that many young people, men and women, think of pregnancy as the biggest consequence of unprotected sex."

Although this was good for business, Dr Okanya said pharmacists should do more than sell contraceptive pills.

They should educate the buyer on the dangers of unprotected sex, the effects of misuse of the pills and if necessary introduce her to alternative family planning methods if her lifestyle exposes her to frequent unsafe sex, she said.

An increase in demand for the morning-after pills may be the reason why fake pills are now entering the country.

According to a distributor of one of three bona fide brands available on the market, there has been a sudden influx of fakes.

The buyer cannot tell them apart because they look the same, he said, adding the only solution was a major awareness campaign by the ministry of Health.

He said despite the fact that distributors are aware of the presence of fakes, ministry regulations prevent them from raising the alarm until the ministry has determined their degree of presence.

Since the ministry has just learnt that there are fakes around, their effects, other than possible conception, largely go unreported.

A circular has been sent to doctors, dentists and pharmacists on the differences between the fakes and the genuine products, although that information is yet to be released to the public whose lives or health may be in danger.

"Although it is ethical for a pharmacist to give as much information as possible about the pills to the buyer, not many of them do so, and those who offer some information, do it selectively," said Mr Liambila of the Population Council.