Boots now stocking cheaper morning-after pill across the UK
Boots was previously criticised for failing to stock a cheaper version of emergency contraception
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Boots has announced that it is offering a cheaper morning-after pill across all of its UK pharmacies.
The pharmacy chain was previously criticised for failing to stock a cheaper brand of contraception by Labour MPs and health campaigners.
When asked to provide women with cheaper emergency contraception alternatives, the high street chain said: “We would not want to be accused of incentivising inappropriate use.”
A spokesperson from Boots has since apologised for the misjudged statement.
Following a promise from Boots to stock a generic brand of the morning-after pill by October that they failed to keep, it is now available to purchase across every Boots pharmacy.
In July last year, the branded progestogen-based drug was being offered for £28.25 at Boots, with the non-branded alternative a mere £1.50 cheaper.
Now, the Levonorgestrel option will be sold for £15.99.
A spokesperson from Boots explained that it always planned on providing woman with a cheaper alternative to the more expensive versions of the morning-after pill.
“Last year, we committed to delivering a less expensive EHC [Emergency Hormonal Contraception] service to enable us to make a privately funded EHC service more accessible for our customers,” they said.
“We are pleased to confirm that from this week, this service will be available in all of our 2,400 Boots Pharmacies across the UK. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience.
“It was always our intention to ensure that when we launched this service it was done well, and with sufficient, sustainable supply so that women would be able to access it both now and in the future.”
Sharon Hodgson, the Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West, has praised Boots for eventually coming through with its promise.
“It is welcome to see that Boots has fulfilled its commitment made last year which means that more women across the UK will be able to access cheaper emergency contraception across all of their 2,400 pharmacies,” she said.
Boots believes that there should be a free service in place to give care to all women.
It is urging NHS England to develop a nationally commissioned NHS Service across pharmacies in England, like the service that currently exists in Scotland and Wales.
Hodgson has also publicly expressed her support for the initiative.
“The next step is to ensure this important service is available to every woman at her local pharmacy free on the NHS by eradicating the postcode lottery that exists at present and look at ways to remove the cost barrier altogether,” she said.
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