Hong Kong: Viagra on way to getting the all-clear
Hong Kong Standard
January 28, 1999
STORY: GOOD news for about 200,000 men in Hong Kong: Viagra, the
anti-impotence pill, could finally be available next week.
As a first step, the Legislative Council yesterday passed a resolution under the
Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance regulating the pill as a prescription drug. The
resolution will be gazetted on 5 February.
After that, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board could give the go-ahead to the
drug's maker, Pfizer, to distribute Viagra to local drug stores.
But Pfizer declined to comment on distribution issues until it received final
authorisation from the Department of Health, with a spokesman saying the
company was committed to responsible marketing.
It has been estimated that there are 200,000 men in Hong Kong suffering from
erectile dysfunction.
Pfizer conducted clinical trials among 500 men in Southeast Asia last year, and
81 per cent noted an improvement after 12 weeks.
There had been concerns, however, about the safety of the drug following
reports that a number of heart patients died after taking the pill in the United
States.
There were also reports of test patients experiencing various side effects, such as
flushes, headaches, dizziness and abnormal vision.
Pfizer has stressed that Viagra _ though a ''scientific advance in treating erectile
dysfunction'' _ would be a prescription-only medicine and must not be taken
without medical consultation
hkstandard.com
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