The pharmacy rip-offs

A recent Which? report highlighted the extent to which consumers are paying over the odds for branded pain relief - a packet of 16 200mg ibuprofen pills can be bought for less than £1 at a supermarket, but if packaged as Nurofen, the same amount of the drug costs around £2.50.

As we show here, the phenomenon isn't confined just to pain-relievers. Often the consumer is paying for the brand. Some cosmetics companies make own-brand lines for supermarkets which are considerably cheaper than their branded jars and bottles with the same contents.

As to whether some toiletries are perceived as "better" for your skin, that is up to the individual to decide. "All products on sale must be safe and of high quality," says Dr Christopher Flower, director-general of the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumers Association. "And the wide range of products on the market ensures that the consumer has a good choice."

We took a tour of high-street chemists and found some surprising comparisons.

St John's Wort

Boots St John's Wort: £10.50 for 30 tablets.

Kira St John's Wort: £14.95 for 30 tablets.

Both contain 300mg standardised extract of hypericum perforatum, aka St John's Wort, which is popular as a remedy for mild depression.

Whitening toothpaste

Boots Smile Whitening toothpaste: 100ml for £1.49.

Rapid White toothpaste: 100ml for £8.35.

Both contain hydrated silica, the microscopic granules of which are effective at removing surface stains without the need for harsh abrasives.

Paracetamol

Galpharm: 26p for 16 tablets (500mg paracetamol per tablet).
Panadol: £1.85 for 16 tablets (500mg paracetamol per tablet).
With 500mg of paracetamol in each tablet in both products, the only difference between these two is the price.

Ibuprofen

Nurofen: 16 for £2.56.
Safeway ibuprofen: 16 for 99p. Each tablet contains 200mg of ibuprofen and should prove equally good at relieving a headache or muscle pain.

Hay fever

Zirtek: seven tablets for £4.99.

Galpharm: seven tablets for £2.99. Both types of pills contain 10mg of the antihistamine drug, cetirizine hydrochloride.

Athlete's foot cream

Boots athlete's foot cream: 35g for £2.35 (67p for 10g).

Mycil athlete's foot cream: 25g for £2.49 (99p for 10g).

Both versions contain the fungicidal ingredient Tolnaftate BP (one per cent) and Benzalkonium Chloride BP, which has antiseptic properties when combined with an antifungal ingredient.

Shampoo

Superdrug: 500ml for 49p (9.8p per 100ml).

Aveda Shampure: 250ml for £8.50 (£3.40 per 100ml).

Shampoos all contain water, foaming agents and detergent. Some contain not much else, and cost very little; others get complicated. All will wash your hair; it is how it feels afterwards, and how you feel about it, that makes the difference.

Vitamin tablets

Sanatogen Vital 50+ vitamins with ginkgo and ginseng: 30 tablets for £4.39.

Safeway 50+ Complete Vitamins: 30 tablets for £1.76.

Both tablets contain a directly comparable amount of the major vitamins and minerals; Sanatogen boasts it contains ginkgo and ginseng, but the Safeway pills have twice as much ginseng and 12 times as much ginkgo.

Cocoa butter body cream

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula: 100ml for £3.25.

Superdrug Cocoa Butter Body Cream: 375ml for £1.79 (equivalent to 47p per 100ml).

Both products are largely comprised of mineral oil, cocoa butter and fragrance, and both will leave your skin well moisturised, though Palmer's has microcrystalline wax and cocoa seed extract, and considerably fewer chemicals and preservatives than the cheaper Superdrug version.