// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Period products 'essential not optional'
The Period Products (Free Provision) Act 2026 has been granted Royal Assent
Sanitary towels and tampons are "basic health and hygiene products" which are "essential and not optional", the public health director has said.
Matt Tyrer's department is spearheading the rolling out of a scheme which will see women and girls on the Isle of Man access free period products.
The Period Products (free provision) Act bill was introduced by MHK Joney Faragher as a private members bill in 2024. It has now been given Royal Assent but it will not come into force until October 2027.
Tyrer said making the products available would also ensure women or girls will not have to miss school, work or everyday activities.
Making them available to households on low incomes, he said, ensured women, girls and those who menstruate, can access them.
"We want to ensure people who need them have access to them as these are basic health and hygiene products that are essential and not optional," said Tyrer.
The scheme follows similar programmes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
One of the co-founders of the Manx Menstrual Movement, Rhian Evans described Royal Assent as "a long time coming".
In 2023, Evans and Nicki Gaskell created the movement after speaking about period poverty and the basic right to have access products.