Pharmacies report widespread shortages of Aspirin
Pharmacies across the UK are reporting widespread shortages of Aspirin, it has been revealed.
In a new poll by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), 86% of pharmacies across the UK reported they had been able to supply Aspirin to their patients in the week 13th to 20th January.
Pharmacies have told the NPA that they have been tightly rationing supplies of Aspirin for those patients with the most acute heart conditions or those in need of emergency prescriptions.
Patients needing a regular supply of dispersible aspirin include those with a history of strokes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetes.
A number of pharmacists have also said they have stopped making aspirin available for over the counter sales.
50.9 million items of Aspirin were prescribed in the UK between January 2025 and October 2025, making it one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the country.
The NPA is urging the government to accelerate plans to scrap dangerous and antiquated legislation that prevents pharmacists from making substitutions to prescriptions where a prescribed medicine is out of stock.
The current rules, introduced in 1968, forbid pharmacists from doing things such as switching a prescription from tablets to capsules or even the flavour of liquid medication.
NPA analysis also shows the price of aspirin has soared in the last two months due to the shortages, with a packet of Aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets going from 18p earlier last year to £3.90 this month.
At the moment, the NHS will only reimburse pharmacies £2.18 a packet, meaning an average pharmacy will lose £1.72 each time it is dispensed, on the rare occasion where stock can be found.
The NPA have called on the government to reform the broken pharmacy contract which regularly leaves pharmacists dispensing NHS prescriptions at a loss.
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said: “We’re concerned about reports of pharmacies being unable to order in stocks of aspirin and the implications this might have for the patients they serve.
“For those pharmacies that can get hold of supply, costs will far exceed what they will be reimbursed by the NHS, yet more signs of a fundamentally broken pharmacy contract in desperate need of reform by the government.
“We’ve long called for pharmacists to be able to make substitutions where a medicine is not in stock and it is safe to supply an alternative.
“The status quo is not only frustrating for patients, it is also dangerous.
“It is madness to send someone back to their GP to get a prescription changed when a safe alternative is in stock. It risks a patient either delaying taking vital medication or forgoing it altogether, which poses a clear risk to patient safety.”
