The Students’ Union shop has decided to sell sanitary products profit free to counter the five percent tampon tax.
Rianna Gargiulo, Students’ Union Welfare Officer, said: “All people with uteruses would happily tell you that wearing a tampon is not really a choice but a modern day necessity.
“Ironically, a copy of Playboy magazine won’t cost you the same 5% VAT which we have to pay every time we buy these items.”
At the shop Always Ultra Pads are now sold at £2.34 and Tampax Tampons are £2.21. Both normally retail at £3.19 meaning 27% and 31% reduction in price.
Rianna Gargiulo, added: “I think it’s a great leap forward and I’m glad that it’s a movement that’s come from students – hopefully the government will be keen to acknowledge the inherent unfairness in the towel/tampon tax.
“After all, if you can get the contraceptive pill and condoms for free (as a result of your choice to have sex).
“Why should we have to pay for tampons and bras for periods and breasts that we have absolutely no biological control or choice over having?”
Vee Cartwright, a second year Film student, said: “The Union has thankfully recognized [the products’] importance to people who menstruate and hopefully more free sanitary products can also make an appearance on campus.”
The government puts VAT on sanitary products as they are classified as ‘non-essential, luxury’ items.
The move towards profit-free has been a result of the national #FreePeriods campaign which was started by Shelly Asquith, the President at SUArts, when she made all sanitary products free for those students who needed them.
Dan Greenberg, Operations Officer, said: “Sanitary products are a basic health necessity for women, and nobody should be profiting from their sale.”
Vicky Grantham
Tampon tax? What a load of nonsense. Large numbers of products are sold in the modern day that are a modern necessity, and profit is made on them, because that’s the way society works. Why should women get sanitary products untaxed on the grounds of “basic health necessity”, but I’m paying huge amounts of money for anti-inflammatories, painkillers and asthma pumps each month, which I can assure you is a basic health necessity for me.