Pharmacies to offer free reusable period products from early 2024

Pharmacies in Catalonia will offer free reusable period products to around 2.5 million people after a deal between the Catalan government and the Catalan Pharmaceutical Association announced on Thursday.

The initiative will come into force during the first quarter of 2024, and pharmacists will offer menstrual cups and underwear, as well as offering personalized advice to women who will ask for a product depending on their needs.

All these products will be exchanged using a QR code available to entitled people in the 'La Meva Salut' Catalan health department app.

Catalan equality and feminism minister Tània Verge hopes the 3,272 pharmacies in the territory join the program.

Offering such products is "part of a decision without international precedents," Verge said. In 2022, Scotland already made universal access to these products free of charge.

Using reusable products will reduce the annual waste of period products, as "every year, around 9,000 tonnes of non-reusable period products are wasted," Verge said.

Catalonia already has a "my period my rules" campaign that distributes menstrual cups to students which was extended to all public and semi-public secondary schools this year.