Evidently, some hard-drinking women who are trying to stay baby-free have a difficult time keeping something elementary in mind: After taking a birth-control pill, try not to throw it up. If you do, warns Dr. Karen Prokai, it’s the same as skipping the dose—a concept that Canadian college students spoken to by news website OpenFile seem to have trouble grasping. “I puke all the time and have sex with my boyfriend after,” said one student. “I don’t really puke when I’m hungover, but I puke a lot when I’m drunk,” said another. She added: “And ever since I started University, I pretty much have sex every weekend when I’m drunk.”

When students were told that their gastric gymnastics and mattress marathons could leave them in the family way, they were surprised to have never made the connection. “That’s a huge disclaimer that should be on [birth control],” one college boyfriend said. “Especially at our age, because there’s so many people going out, puking and having sex. It’s the reality.” But even those who don’t live in a such a wild world could stand to learn a lesson about birth control and alcohol: Namely, also use a condom. “Our motto is just don’t trust [the pill] 100 percent,” said pharmacy technician Jessica Wood. “There’s always that chance—it’s not foolproof.”

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