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Created 8:39 PM on 13th August 2010
Britain’s biggest chemist has launched a website that could be expanded to sell the morning after pill.
Teenagers could buy the emergency contraceptive from the Boots website without seeing a doctor or pharmacist.
It is feared this will fuel promiscuity among young girls, who unknown to their parents will be able to keep a supply in their bedroom.
And because it will encourage unprotected sex, it risks adding to the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases among the under-25s.
Available online: Boots plans to sell the morning after pill on itswebsite, prompting fears it will promote promiscuity among teenage girls (file photo)
Boots has just launched a website enabling customers to purchase certain treatments online without the need of a prescription.
A specialist at the chemist said he hoped the service will be expanded to include most other drugs available in-store – including the morning after pill.
Normally, users must see their GP or pharmacist for a thorough consultation before they are given the treatment.
They are taken into a private room and asked a series of uncomfortable questions such as when the unprotected sex took place and the last time they took the morning after pill.
But if it is made available over the internet, they will need only to fill in an online form and make a payment for the contraceptive to be delivered by post the next day.
Young girls with access to credit cards – their own or their parents’ – could obtain it for themselves and for friends who would be taking it without any medical advice whatsoever.
The morning after pill is already available online from some sources including Lloyds Pharmacy. But if a big and trusted name such as Boots enters the market, it is feared that far more girls will be tempted to buy.
The morning after pill could be available on Boots’ new website, pictured, enabling customers to purchase certain drugs online
Figures from the Health Protection Agency show almost 400,000 new cases of sexually transmitted infections a year.
Half involve those aged 16 to 24, despite this age group accounting for only one-eighth of the population. They were responsible for 65 per cent of chlamydia cases, 55 per cent of genital warts and 50 per cent of gonorrhoea infections.
Almost 75 per cent of cases of chlamydia and gonorrhoea in women affected 16 – to 24-year-olds.
The morning after pill, usually sold under the brand name Levonelle, contains a high dose of the hormone levonorgestrel which alters the lining of the womb preventing a fertilised egg becoming embedded.
it works if taken within 72 hours of sex but it is far more effective within 24 hours.
The contraceptive is available from GPs, family planning centres, A&E departments and can also be bought without prescription from pharmacies including Boots for a fee of
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