Tackling the Tampon Tax

The year is 2017. The 21st century is very much officially here. And with it, man made societal rules have brought about such a massive and constant political wave of change, that there is scarcely a day in this country we call Great Britain, when someone is not unhappy with their lot. Politics is only as good as the people who run it, and apparently the people currently in power have not really got it sorted. Our political system is merely the best alternative that keeps the majority happy. Which of course leaves a large percentage of people disappointed.

This week, the largest gripe that’s swept the nation regards that tender time of the month that hits every woman who doesn’t artificially control it. You know what I’m talking about. The red mist. The crimson canal. The female calamity that comes with the mammary. There are many alter egos needlessly tossed around, for something more common than a cold. It starts with P, and ends with ‘eriod’, and it’s a very taboo subject nowadays.

The problem with periods (the reason so many people tiptoe around the subject) is purely the reaction from the masses. If blokes bled out of their tender regions, no one would find it such a shocking subject. But they don’t, they probably never will, and as an indirect result, there is a tax on tampons. In fact this week there was a big old national argument because an anti-abortion group was given a 250,000-pound grant, which was raised from said taxes.

Since this came to light, hundreds of thousands of women have signed a petition, according to the BBC, which calls for all female sanitary products to become tax-free. There have also now been grants given to several Trusts and Charities, including the Suzy Lamplugh trust (supporting women who are stalked) and Stepping Stones (which is for women facing domestic and sexual abuse).

The taxation of female sanitary products remains a sore subject, if only for the plain sexism portrayed by the healthcare industry. There is no tax on male products, such as condoms for example – in fact they are available for free on the NHS. Walk into any high street drug store and compare the prices of ‘male’ sanitary products, and ‘female’ sanitary products, and this price gap becomes ever more apparent. Society dictates that these products are a necessity for women, and therefore they are sold at a massively inflated price. If you’re a woman and you find yourself reading this, I’d fully recommend buying what’s classed as a more masculine product where possible. Even if they’re in a less elegant bottle.

I’m not saying they should be free. Nothing’s free in 2017. Apart from the cake samples they sometimes do in Morrison’s. And even they’re just a ploy to make you buy stuff.

The argument that women can’t help having periods doesn’t necessarily mean no-one should pay for a tampon. Otherwise everything First Aid related would be free. If you cut yourself, you’ve got to buy a box of plasters whether you meant to cut yourself or not. There’s an albeit small production cost, so it makes sense that there needs to be money going back into the construction from somewhere. The question is, why can this money not come from the NHS we pump so much into? Then your average Joe (or Josephine) member of the public can grab what they need, when they need them, without paying for anything. ‘Free on the NHS’ is one of a Brit’s stock of favourite sayings. Along with ‘milk one sugar’ and ‘the weather’s nice today'. Why maintain this pointless negativity when it's so easily solved?

To conclude this epic argument inducer, taxing tampons is massively unfair. Especially if you’re then giving the money to charities without people wanting to fund them. Abortion is a decision you’re at full liberty to decide upon yourself. We’re the smartest animals on the planet and we’ve achieved that status without having all our decisions made for us by corporate companies. But periods are very much out of our control, which makes it all the more disappointing that there is still a cost affiliated with them, when the people in charge could avoid it.