Women from New Zealand have rushed to use a new government-funded contraceptive implant, finishing the supply in three weeks which was meant to last for one whole year.

Pharmac began $1 million funding of Bayer’s contraceptive Jadelle starting August 1, dropping the price from $300 to $3 – in an attempt to save costs on repeat doctor visits and pharmacy costs.

The ling-acting implants are tiny rods which can be removed and are inserted just below the skin in the arm. They can provide contraception for up to five years.

A Pharmac spokesman said, “With new products coming into the markets, particularly with pharmaceuticals, what we usually see is a slow early uptake, and then that grows over time. It's quite unusual to have a new product come in where there's a massive underlying demand where as soon as you bring it in it goes out the door.”

The spokesman said that the agency didn’t think that there would be a risk of unwanted pregnancies whereas the drug was not available since women wanting it would be probably taking orally-based contraceptives.