CVS To Cut Tampon Prices, Pay Sales Tax In 12 States

(RTTNews) - Beginning Thursday, CVS (CVS) will cut the prices on its store-branded menstrual products nationwide and pay the sales taxes on those products in over dozen states. The company will drop prices by 25 percent on CVS Health and Live Better tampons, menstrual pads, liners and cups.

The chain last week also began paying sales taxes for customers on period products in 12 states namely, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia. CVS said it cannot cover the taxes in other states that levy them due to laws preventing third parties from paying taxes on a customer's behalf.

Dr Padmini Murthy, the global health lead for the American Medical Women's Association, commended CVS, but said the company should go a step further and reduce prices on all of the menstrual products it sells.

She said, The price cuts from CVS are the latest step in a growing effort to close the gap between the cost of women's and men's personal health items, and eliminate sales taxes on feminine hygiene products, which are often known as the pink tax or tampon tax."

Advocates in recent years have pushed for states to remove sales tax on women health status. Twenty-three states exempt such items from taxes, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies, an advocacy organization working to expand access to menstrual supplies.

Menstrual products can be a big expense for women and have grown more costly in recent years.

Tampon prices increased 12.2 percent at retail stores for the year ending October 2, according to the latest data from market research firm IRI. Liners increased 11.6 percent.