Women will be able to buy the contraceptive pill without having to visit their doctor under a new internet service launched yesterday.

Women will be able to buy the contraceptive pill without having to visit their doctor under a new internet service launched yesterday.

The medical website DrThom is offering three months' supply of the drug for £29.99, raising concerns from the British Medical Association (BMA) about the sale of pharmaceuticals over the internet.

The service will initially be offered to women already on the contraceptive pill but will soon be expanded to those who have never taken it before.

A spokesman for DrThom said patients will have to fill in a health questionnaire and can be asked follow-up questions by a doctor from the website.

Clients will have to be over 18 to buy the pills and use a credit card or debit card to make the purchase.

However, doctors will have to rely on patients accurately reflecting their medical history and telling the truth about other factors, including their age.

"There's nothing to stop a patient lying when they use the service," the spokesman said, but added they were only doing a disservice to their own health by lying.

The questionnaire includes asking the woman about prior use of the contraceptive pill as well as any side-effects, pregnancy, family history of cancer and blood pressure, weight and height.

Patients wishing to get repeat prescriptions and those who have never taken it before will have to provide specific details of their blood pressure reading, but the spokesman said the company would not be able to independently verify the information.

The IT system would pick up anybody registering as being under 18 and flag that up to staff, he added, with the credit or debit card used to make the purchase required to be in the patient's name.

A spokeswoman for the British Bankers' Association said yesterday that some banks offered debit cards to 14-year-olds. The average age to get a card was around 16, she said.

The sale of prescription-only drugs over the internet has become widespread.

A 2008 survey commissioned by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain found that more than two million people in Britain regularly buy prescription drugs such as the anti-depressant Prozac, the sex aid Viagra and Valium, which is prescribed to treat anxiety.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority has seized £5.8m worth of drugs sold over the internet, of which it estimates around half are counterfeit.

Although it is illegal to buy prescription-only drugs without a prescription or consultation in the UK, whether on or offline, many websites are based overseas and cannot be closed down by British regulators.

The Herald was yesterday unable to contact DrThom, which specialises in contraception and sexual health screening and has a clinic in London, in order to clarify where the company is based.

The firm is registered with the Healthcare Commission and has received research funding from the Bupa Foundation last year.

Dr Thomas Van Every, DrThom's medical director, said in a statement: "The aim of our new contraceptive service is to make it easier and more convenient for women throughout the UK to get access to the pill.

"Our specialist service is ideal for a woman living a long way from her GP or a woman who is too busy because of work or childcare to take the time to visit her GP.

"We see the DrThom service as part of an ongoing trend - a trend consistent with UK Government policy - to help women access contraceptive services as close to their home as possible."

Women taking the most commonly prescribed combined pill, containing oestrogens and progestogens, have a small risk of blood clots.

Smoking increases the risk of blood clots as does diabetes, high blood pressure and a family history of clots.

A spokeswoman for BMA Scotland said yesterday: "It is important for women who are on the pill, or who are considering going on the pill, to seek advice from their doctor or family planning clinic.

"Purchasing drugs online doesn't involve the necessary safeguards as compared to going to a GP or clinic where a patient can discuss the best pill for them and consider all the options.

"The problem with the internet is that it offers no guarantees for the safety or quality of the drugs on offer."