Pharmacies across the UK are reporting widespread shortages of Aspirin, a new poll by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has found.
86 per cent of pharmacies in the UK surveyed by the NPA reported that they had been unable to supply Aspirin to their patients in the last week (13th-20th January).
Patients needing a regular supply of dispersible aspirin include those with a history of strokes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetes.
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.
A number 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-October 2025, making it one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the country.
The NPA are 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."
Fiona Loud, Policy Director at Kidney Care UK, said:
“Cardiovascular diseases are closely linked to chronic kidney disease (CKD) so some people with early stages of CKD are prescribed low dose aspirin to help reduce risk of strokes and heart attack.
"This is often prescribed under supervision because there can be an increased risk of bleeding so the benefits of the medication have to be assessed against potential risks. Where there are potential medicine shortages affecting commonly prescribed items like aspirin we believe that pharmacists should have leeway to substitute commonly prescribed medications.
"There is precedent for this, having seen protocols put in place when the UK left the EU and during the Covid-19 pandemic, both occasions when the supply of certain medicines was at risk.
"It is also important that alongside this, there is clear communication from primary care around the medications people are taking, and why any changes are being applied, along with the opportunity for people to ask any questions or raise any concerns they may have.”
Notes
The NPA ran a snap survey of 540 UK pharmacies between 20th and 22nd January 2026.
Prescribing data is available from Open Prescribing and collected via information from NHS England.
