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Parents call for ban on acne drug following teenage daughter Charlotte Porter's death in Maidstone

Teenager Charlotte Porter suffered a fatal blood clot
Teenager Charlotte Porter suffered a fatal blood clot

The family of a Maidstone teenager who died while taking an acne drug have launched an online petition for it to be banned.

Charlotte Porter, 17, died in 2010 of deep-vein thrombosis while she was taking the drug Dianette.

Since her death, her parents Trevor and Beverly have fought to get the medication reviewed by the government as other deaths among young women have been linked to the drug.

France has suspended the drug from sale after it was linked to the deaths of four women.

Now the Porters, of Western Road, Maidstone, have launched an e-petition and they need 100,000 signatures to get the issue debated in Parliament.

They have already collected 720 signatures, but Charlotte's sisters, Jessica and Jennifer, have also been collecting them by hand and in total the family believes they have around 1,000.

The dual-purpose drug also has contraceptive properties, but is licensed for skin conditions in this country.

The petition says: "Ban Dianette. Dianette is a drug used to treat acne but it kills. I lost my sister Charlotte, aged 17, to it. No one else should go through this.

"France have banned the use of Dianette due to four deaths, the UK have had nine deaths and continue to prescribe it. How many more lives need to be lost before something gets done? We need to take action now! Jessica Porter.”

The deadline to collect enough signatures is April 5, 2014.

Mr Porter said: "People are still being affected by it, so we will still keep trying. We want to make sure that no other family has to go through what we have been through.

"We have a year to get the signatures, but even if we don't get 100,000, we will still present it."

To sign the petition, visit epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/47827.

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