Swallowing the Problem: NHS’s Sponge-on-a-String Revolution

When chronic heartburn meets high-street innovation, you get a sponge on a string in Boots. It’s clever, slightly terrifying, and proof that your pharmacist now needs a PhD and barbecue tongs!

A few weeks ago, I was in Boots buying some 35mm film of all things, when a woman next to me loudly asked the pharmacist for “those chalky tablets for heartburn.” As she shuffled off clutching her Gaviscon like it was Chanel No. 5, the pharmacist gave me that weary look that only someone who’s dispensed indigestion relief more times than they’ve blinked…