Call to axe VAT on condoms, UK

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 06 Oct 2004 - 12:00 PDT

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VAT (purchase tax) on over-the-counter contraceptives should be axed to help reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reduce unwanted pregnancies, according to Government advisors.

The Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV made a total of 29 recommendations to the government on how to improve public health.

The group believe that the price of condoms can often discourage younger people from using adequate contraception. However, by removing the VAT on such products would increase the likelihood of their use.

The Family Planning Association supported the recommendations claiming that although contraption can be obtained free via the NHS, chemists are often charging an average of £2.80 for a packet of three standard condoms, whilst spermicides cost from £2.60 to £4.50.

Baroness Joyce Gould, who chairs the group, said: "Some believe sexual health issues to be a kind of Pandora's box of sins unleashed on a permissive society. It's time to destigmatise sexual health and properly deal with what is and will continue to be a very real consideration for public health."

The UK still has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe and in 2003 there were more than 670,000 new cases of sexually transmitted infections diagnosed in England.

http://www.hda-online.org.uk

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