Generic Medications Save 80% — And the NHS Already Prescribes Them

The Pill Is the Same. The Price Isn't.

Nurofen costs £3-5 for 16 tablets. Supermarket own-brand ibuprofen costs 30p-£1 for 16 tablets. They contain the exact same active ingredient — ibuprofen 200mg — in the same dosage, with the same efficacy. The MHRA (UK's medicines regulator) requires this by law.

This applies to virtually every over-the-counter medication you buy. Branded products cost 3-10x more than generic equivalents for chemically identical medicine.

Common Swaps That Save Immediately

Brand Name	Generic Equivalent	Brand Price	Generic Price
Nurofen	Ibuprofen 200mg	£3-5	£0.30-1
Anadin Extra	Aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine	£3-4	£0.50-1.50
Piriton	Chlorphenamine 4mg	£4-5	£1-2
Piriteze / Clarityn	Cetirizine / Loratadine	£4-7	£0.50-1.50
Benylin	Guaifenesin/various	£5-7	£1-3
Gaviscon	Alginate/antacid	£5-8	£1.50-3
Rennie	Calcium carbonate	£3-5	£0.50-1.50
Sudafed	Pseudoephedrine	£4-6	£1-2

How to check: Look at the active ingredient listed on the back of any branded product. Then find the supermarket or pharmacy own-brand version with the same active ingredient and dosage.

Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots, Superdrug, and Asda all sell own-brand versions of common medications. Boots even labels theirs clearly: "Boots Ibuprofen" next to "Nurofen" on the same shelf.

NHS Prescriptions: Already Generic

Good news — NHS prescriptions are already written generically in most cases. Your GP prescribes "ibuprofen 400mg" not "Nurofen 400mg." The pharmacist dispenses whatever generic version they stock.

If you pay for prescriptions in England (£9.90 per item), you pay the same whether it's generic or branded. But for OTC purchases, the savings are entirely yours.

Prescription Prepayment vs Generic OTC

If you take regular medications, compare these two approaches:

NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC): £31.25 for 3 months or £111.60 for 12 months. Covers unlimited prescriptions. Worth it if you need 4+ items in 3 months or 12+ per year.

Buying generic OTC: Many common medications (ibuprofen, paracetamol, antihistamines, antacids) are cheaper to buy over the counter in generic form than to get on prescription. A year's supply of generic cetirizine (hayfever) costs about £6 over the counter vs £9.90 for a single prescription.

The strategy: Get a PPC for prescription-only medications, and buy common OTC medications as generics from the supermarket.

When Brand Matters (Rarely)

For a small number of medicines, the MHRA recommends sticking with one brand:

• Levothyroxine (thyroid) — Bioavailability varies slightly between brands. Once stable, don't switch without your doctor monitoring.
• Some anti-epileptic drugs — MHRA classifies these by switching risk. Category 1 (e.g., phenytoin) should not be switched.
• Warfarin — Narrow therapeutic index. Brand switching needs INR monitoring.

For everything else — painkillers, antihistamines, cold remedies, antacids, vitamins — generics are identical. The scientific consensus is clear.

The One Rule

Before buying any OTC medication, flip the box over, read the active ingredient, and buy the cheapest version with the same ingredient and dosage. This single habit saves most households £50-150 per year.