NATIONAL: Boots apologises over contraception campaign response

HIGH street retailers Boots has said it is '˜truly sorry' for the way it responded to a campaign calling for it to cut the price of emergency contraception and announced it is looking for cheaper alternatives.

The chain faced criticism after refusing to reduce the cost of the morning-after pill over fears it could incentivise its use.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which launched the campaign calling on Boots to reduce the price tag on the emergency contraceptive, found the progestogen-based pills can cost up to five times more in the UK than other parts of Europe.

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Boots charges £28.25 for Levonelle emergency contraceptive and £26.75 for its own version, while Tesco charges £13.50 for Levonelle and Superdrug £13.49 for a generic product.

A spokesman for Boots said: ‘Pharmacy and care for customers are at the heart of everything we do and as such we are truly sorry that our poor choice of words in describing our position on emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) has caused offence and misunderstanding, and we sincerely apologise.’