Over the past couple of decades, combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) use has declined while progesterone-only pill (POP) use has increased. Between 2000 and 2018, COCP prescribing fell by 46% while POP prescribing more than doubled.⁸

Annual prescription data for England shows that more than 7.5 million contraceptive items were dispensed at a cost of £66.3 million in 2021-22, or an average cost per item of £8.67.⁹

Progesterone-only contraceptives accounted for the largest part, with 4.31 million items at a cost of £40.95 million (£9.50 per item), while combined hormonal contraceptives and systems accounted for 3.14 million items at a cost of £23.61 million (£7.51 per item). There were 724 prescriptions for spermicidal contraceptives at a cost of £10,571.

Desogestrel is the most commonly prescribed contraceptive drug with 3.05 million items dispensed – 71% of all POP prescriptions, and 41% of all dispensed contraceptive items in 2021-22. The most common COCPs are combined ethinylestradiol 30mcg preparations which accounted for 2.5 million items or 58% of prescribed COCPs.

Emergency contraception dispensed items totalled 75,071 at a cost of £702,000. Levonorgestrel was more likely to be prescribed than ulipristal acetate; there were 43,8062 levonorgestrel items at a cost of £260,521 (£5.94 per item) compared to 31,209 ulipristal items at a cost of £441,451 (£14.14 per item).