Martin Lewis fans could cut costs on medication by looking for a nine-digit code before heading to the tills. According to MoneySavingExpert, founded by Martin Lewis, people could pay half the price by checking the ingredients rather than the brand name when shopping in a pharmacy.
Some people may inadvertently purchase pricier tablets when an ‘identical’ alternative is available for less, according to the consumer finance website. However, shoppers can use a nine-digit identification code to check they’re not overspending on non-prescription medicines, reports the Mirror.
The MoneySavingExpert website said: « It’s important to realise you can often save big by buying an identical pill, just in different packaging. Some tablets are half the price of their doppelgangers. »
The guidance explained: « How to spot which tablets are identical. Check the ‘PL number’ on the packet. It’s a unique licence number given to a particular drug made by a particular manufacturer. »
Shoppers can find more information on how people may end up paying more for medicine in a MoneySavingExpert guide dedicated to cheap and free medications. The advice was flagged in the latest MoneySavingExpert Money Tips Email.
Martin Lewis has also highlighted the nine-digit code in TV appearances. Sharing why the branded choice isn’t always the best, he previously told This Morning: « If they have an identical PL code, which is on the back of the packet, they are the same tablet. Not the same active ingredient—the same tablet.
« Big pharmaceutical companies spend millions of pounds promoting this, ‘Go with the name you know.’ And that’s just baloney in most cases. And I’ll prove it to you. »
Martin provided an example, comparing a £4.99 product with a cheaper £1.85 product with the same PL code. » He added: « This happens all over the place. »
The tip proved popular with social media users when the clip was shared on Facebook, racking up over 2k likes and thousands of comments from people who supported the method.
One response read: « I work in a well-known pharmacy. We tell people of the price difference in pain meds and hay fever stuff mostly, and it’s amazing how many people dare not buy the cheaper own-brand stuff. It can make about £12 difference in some cases. Branding really works. »
A different viewer wrote: « I worked in a pharmacy for years trying to get people to buy the store’s own cheaper brand, but most customers would say only the branded medicines worked!! »
Another social media user shared: « Used to buy expensive hayfever tablets for my daughter. Now buy Wilkinson’s own, same PL code and only 89p a box. »
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