NEW YORK — New York City has issued its first prescription discount card, the BigAppleRx card.

The card, which is free and available to anyone who lives or works in New York or visits the city, can be used at most chain pharmacies.

The card was introduced at a press conference held at the Target pharmacy in Brooklyn’s Atlantic Center on May 18. “All too often the rising costs of prescription drugs place a burden on New York City households,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “This is particularly true for the more than 1 million New Yorkers who don’t have health insurance.

“Having access to a free prescription drug card can mean the difference between being able to afford prescriptions and being forced to skip doses.”

According to the city, the card delivers an average discount of 47% on prescriptions, but it cannot be used in conjunction with insurance.

The administration claims that diabetes patients can save up to $831 a year on generic glucose control drugs, while asthma patients can save up to $667 on their inhalers. Allergy sufferers, those who take high cholesterol and heart disease medications, and birth control users can save up to 15% on brand name drugs and 53% on generics.

The BigAppleRx card can be downloaded and printed out from a dedicated website, bigapplerx.com, which also provides educational information about prescriptions, comparative drug prices and a pharmacy locator. The card also has an iPhone application that enables users not only to locate the nearest pharmacy but to present their card to pharmacists from their phone.

According to the website’s pharmacy locator, the card can be used at CVS/pharmacy, Rite Aid Corp., Walgreen Co. (including Duane Reade), Target and Kmart.