Irish Times - Police 'concern' at sale of drug on Internet
May 25, 1998
From Rachel Donnelly, in London
The anti-impotence drug Viagra is being sold
freely on the Internet as part of a growing
illegal market in Britain, according to drug
squad officers. The US drug, which has yet
to receive a licence in Britain, can be
imported from Europe and the US via the
Internet, and a senior drugs squad officer in
Scotland has said his force is concerned
about its use.
After the deaths of six men in the US who had been using the
drug, and reports that three users in Egypt have been taken into
intensive care, concern is focusing on the illegal trade of Viagra
in Britain. The head of the drugs unit at Strathclyde Police, Det
Supt Bob Lauder, said that because of claims about the
benefits of using Viagra, the drug was being sought in Scotland.
A spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical
Industry said it was aware the drug was being sold on the
Internet and had warned people "not to get hold of drugs that
way".
Police also believe that the blue, diamond-shaped drug is being
sold on the Internet at four times the price it is being sold at in
the US, with British Internet users buying the drug for œ15.
One of the drug's ingredients is manufactured in a factory in
Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, and in Britain it is available on
prescription but only on a "named patient" basis. It is only
prescribed if it is considered the most effective option available
to treat male impotence.
The Internet service promises an on-line medical review by a
doctor before buying the drug but, rather than warning
customers of the potential side-effects, the service dazzles them
with descriptions of Viagra as the "ultimate aphrodisiac". The
manufacturers of the drug, Pfizer Ltd, have said they are
concerned that British men buying the drugs from unregulated
sources are not being told about the potential side-effects.
These include nausea, headaches and, in some men, an inability
to distinguish between the colours green and blue.
Pfizer also warned that people with heart problems or those
taking drugs containing nitrates should not take Viagra.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian health minister, Mr Ismail Sallam, said
three men had been admitted into intensive care after using
Viagra at the weekend. He said the cases confirmed the
Egyptian government's decision not to issue a licence to Viagra
was a sound one.
In Switzerland, where the drug is not licensed but can be
bought at a number of pharmacies, a spokesman for the
International Office for Control of Medicines (OICM) warned
men against using Viagra until further tests were carried out. Mr
Jean-Christophe Meroz said the drug was being sold in
Switzerland, and French and Italian men had travelled across
the Swiss border to buy it.
irish-times.com
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