Emergency contraception can now be obtained without charge from pharmacies across Wales, while still costing about £25 in the rest of the UK, BBC Wales reports today.
Community pharmacists in Wales can also give the “morning-after pill” to under-16s, if clinically appropriate – a move that has angered campaigners.
Some GPs have warned about “missed opportunities” to educate young women about sexually transmitted diseases.
Ministers said pharmacists had a vital role in reducing unwanted pregnancies.
Parts of Wales have some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the UK.
Health minister Edwina Hart announced the move last November, saying she wanted professional advice available without appointment and “easily accessible within the 72-hour time span necessary for emergency contraception to be most effective”.
The morning-after pill is free to women across the UK if it is prescribed by a GP or family planning clinic, but Wales is the first nation to offer emergency contraception without charge on the high street.
The change will affect 700 pharmacies.
The pill will be allowed to be dispensed to under-16s if pharmacists decide if it is clinically appropriate to dispense it and if the girl requesting the pill understands what she is asking for.
But Josephine Quintavalle, founder of Comment on Reproductive Ethics (Core), said it would encourage “irresponsible” attitudes to sex.
She told BBC Wales: “It’s absolutely the wrong way to address the problems of high rates of teenage pregnancy in Wales. The idea that young girls can just walk into a chemist will mean they become even less responsible about sexuality.