They certainly should see a health professionalhealtha 2256 thecontraceptivepill , yes . When you want to start on the Pill , you should see a doctor or family planning nurse and have a short checkup . This is partly to see if you have any risk factors especially smoking that would make you more liable to deep vein thrombosis DVT , heart attacks or strokes . You ' ll have your blood pressure taken , because of the fact that a raised BP is a risk factor for thrombosis . Another important factor the doctor will be looking out for is obesity . Being overweight also increases your chances of thrombosis . At your first visit , quite apart from assessing risk factors , the health professional should explain to you exactly how to take the Pill , and can answer any queries you ' ve got . Your doctor should also enquire about any history of clotting among your relatives . You see , some women inherit a family tendency to thrombosis see below . Incidentally , some people still think that you need to have a vaginal examination before going on the Pill . That hasn ' t been the case for many years . But if you ' ve reached the ' eligible ' age for smear test , it ' s a good idea to have one . Do you have any source for that claim Majority of people on the pill buy it online by the way ? It sounds extremely dubious to me given that it ' s free on the N H S g u i d e p a g e s combinedcontraceptivepill . aspx Most types of contraception are available for free in the UK . Contraception is free to all women and men through the NHS . Places where you can get contraception include most GP surgeries talk to your GP or practice nurse community contraception clinics some genitourinary medicine GUM clinics sexual health clinics they also offer contraceptive and STI testing services some young people ' s services call the Sexual Health Line on 0 tel for more information