State should provide free tampons to end ‘period poverty’

FREE tampons should be provided by the state, the British Medical Association has said.

The union voted overwhelmingly in favour for sanitary products to be made widely available to all in need, and doctors said efforts should be made in particular to ensure tampons and sanitary towels were available for inpatients in hospitals.

Proposing the motion, Eleanor Wilson, a medical student from Glasgow, called “for the eradication of period poverty”, and went on: “By providing sanitary products for free, universally, not only do we sidestep the cost of means testing, but also make the statement that access to sanitary products is a basic human right for all, uniting our population in a shift towards equality.”

The medical student said special attention should be paid to hospital inpatients. “We do not ask patients to bring in toilet paper or food, so why are we asking them to bring in their own sanitary products?

“Patients in hospitals should expect to have all of their basic needs met to allow a quick and dignified recovery.”

Research suggests the average woman spends more than £150 a year on sanitary protection.

Dr Shreelata Datta, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, said: “For too long now something that is essentially natural has been tucked away and discussed behind closed doors causing many an embarrassing moment. And yet, despite it being the 21st century, in some UK hospitals patients do not have access to sanitary protection.”