- Over two-thirds of UK adults believe a healthy and active sex life is important to their overall happiness and wellbeing, yet less than a fifth actively maintain a sexual health routine1.
- To support customers and to help tackle intimacy barriers, Boots and Durex have created the Sexual Wellness Checklist – a free, expert-led seven-step guide to sexual wellness.
- Boots has also provided specialist sexual health training to over 1,000 healthcare colleagues across 350 stores, offering customers convenient access to advice on the high street.
- Durex has launched a holistic range of sexual wellness products at Boots, making access to solutions easier than ever before.
Over two-thirds (68.3%) of UK adults believe that a healthy and active sex life is important to their overall happiness, yet new research from Boots uncovers that sexual wellbeing is de-prioritised in our daily self-care routines.
The research reveals that almost 70% of Brits proactively maintain at least one daily wellness routine, whether that is taking vitamins, a skincare regime, keeping fit or proactively managing sleep, but less than a fifth (19.8%) actively maintain sexual wellness.
Despite this, almost half (47%) of Brits said they would take active steps to address their intimate health in the same way they would other healthcare routines, if they had the right support. A fifth (20%) admitted they would feel much more confident managing their sexual wellbeing if they had access to a trusted, expert-led guide.
To help, Boots and Durex are encouraging the nation to put their sexual wellbeing first by launching 'The Sexual Wellness Checklist' via Boots Health Hub– a free and easy to follow seven-step routine to help people tackle the barriers to intimacy and re-prioritise sexual wellness as part of everyday self-care.
With two-thirds (66.8%) of UK adults saying they have experienced symptoms that actively affected their sex life, including low libido (25.5%) and pain during or after sex (15%), the guide helps to address both psychological and physical barriers.
Mariline Alsuar-Dean, Durex Global Insights Director and member of Boots Wellness Collective said: “Sexual wellness is as important as any other wellness goal and is often shaped by many factors. Often when we come face-to-face with such barriers like discomfort, low libido, erectile dysfunction and everyday stresses, they impact our intimacy, wellbeing and happiness. The new Sexual Wellness Checklist aims to offers a simple guide to help re-prioritise our sexual health.”
Boots has also provided specialist sexual health training to over 1,000 Boots healthcare colleagues across 350 stores, helping provide customers with free, confidential, and non-judgemental support right on the high street, with no appointment needed. For privacy, Boots has consultation rooms in over 1,500 stores across the UK, to ensure customers can discuss matters with the pharmacist in private, such they wish to.
Aidan, Health and Wellness Specialist at Boots said: “Every day, we see customers taking proactive steps for their health and wellness, yet when it comes to sex it is still treated as a taboo. Just like dry skin or muscle tension, physiological barriers to intimacy – such as vaginal dryness or erectile dysfunction – are incredibly common, highly treatable, and nothing to be embarrassed about. Our additional specialised training on sexual wellbeing helps us navigate these topics with customers, offering confidential support for all, should they need it.”
The training is the latest way Boots is setting out to support customers with their sexual health. It has recently expanded its range of services and now includes a new Gonorrhoea Vaccination Service*, NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service**, Boots Online Doctor Chlamydia Treatment** and at-home testing kits.
Durex has also launched a holistic range of medicated and non-medicated solutions to support sexual wellness, available to purchase online at boots.com and in stores nationwide. The range includes advanced pleasure condoms, stimulant gels, and a new and exclusive to Boots over-the-counter Sildenafil erectile dysfunction treatment option.
The Sexual Health Checklist is now available on Boots Health Hub here.
*Eligibility criteria and charges apply. In selected pharmacies, subject to availability.
**Eligibility criteria apply. Subject to availability. England only
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,000 UK Adults. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.