Hereford Voice Money Saving Tips

[Hereford Voice]

Okay so we have shopped around and taken extracts from various money saving advice websites and below we have listed IDENTICAL cold and flu medicines which cost a third of the price.

Most of us probably know that big-brand medicines often contain the same active ingredients as cheaper brands. But what if big-brand medicines were completely identical to the supermarket versions?

Paying for the name and nice box!

You can save up to 70% or more on IDENTICAL drugs by buying them in a different packet. In some cases 'own-brand' products of leading pharmacies Boots and Lloyds cost MORE than identical branded medicines bought elsewhere. Shoppers can also save up to 68% on drugs with the same 'active ingredient', by switching from a branded medicine to a generic equivalent.

To find identical meds you need to find the 'PL number' – a unique licence number given exclusively to a particular drug made by a particular manufacturer (eg, PL 12063/0104 is a cold and flu remedy). The medicine is sometimes put in different packaging, but if the PL numbers match, it's the SAME drug.

Examples (price may vary slightly from original source article) below:

Identical cold and flu capsules pastilles from Wilko (left) and Benylin

Wilko Max Strength Cold and Flu capsules (16 pack) £1

Benylin Cold and Flu Max Strength (16 pack) £3.09 at Lloyds

Identical max strength sinus relief medicine from Wilko (left) and Sudafed

Wilko Max Strength Sinus Relief (16 capsules) £1

Sudafed Congestion and Headache Relief (16 capsules) £3.60 at Sainsbury’s.

Even if there's not an identical medicine that's cheaper, it's often possible to save by swapping branded products for a generic – unbranded or own-brand – equivalent.

We will add a few more overtime, but there is money to be saved here! 

[Peter Thomas-Cruttwell]

Thanks for the heads up, looks like I will be going to Wilko later

[K.Butt]

They have been ripping us off for years and good people like Martin Lewis have helped us all save £££'s. I usually buy own branded paracetamol its only 30p in Tesco, same ingredients as the more expensive brands.

[Mick]

Some good tips, cheers 

[ragwert]

Bells healthcare paracetamol 50p in Tesco's .They do exactly the same job as Nurofen at £3 + 

[Mick]

11 hours ago, ragwert said:

Bells healthcare paracetamol 50p in Tesco's .They do exactly the same job as Nurofen at £3 + 

I'll check them out too