Re: Why they store date of birth
I am pretty sure if i order a box of tampons or parecetamol from Superdrug online they're not going to request copies of my passport and a utility bill...this makes the date of birth field on their website as useful as a favourite colour field for verifying that purchases are being made legally. There are no age restrictions on buying OTC medicines:
Note from the NHS website: "There are no legal age restrictions for buying over-the-counter (OTC) medicines."...no need for DoB checks here.
From their terms and conditions:
Age Restrictions
We only accept orders from persons aged 16 and over. By placing an order for pharmacy-only medicines, you are confirming that you are aged 16 or over.
From their terms of use:
2.4 The purchase of certain products and services on the Site are subject to age requirements specified by law. We are not permitted by law to supply these products or services to individuals who do not satisfy these age requirements and, if you are underage, you must not attempt to order these products or services through the Site.
I just registered an account with them with a DoB of 2004. I then added some parecetamol to my basket, answered some health questionnaire questions which didn't include my DoB and hey presto...they'll deliver them tomorrow! Odd, because it says my DoB will be used for checks (it doesn't even check that I am 16 and therefore allowed to use their website!)
To the dude who thought they restricted based on Nicotinell Mint 1mg Compressed Lozenge 96 Lozenges...I just bought some with y 14 year old profile.
On the medicines questionnaire they even ask "how old the patient is" when I have selected "the medicine is for me". I selected 18 years +...no verification against my supposed birth date...
TLDR: they use DoB for marketing purposes and nothing more. Superdrug work on the "Trust" policy of assuming you're the correct age...