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To: Anthony Wong who wrote (37)	5/26/1998 6:55:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Spanish social security to pay for Viagra pills Tuesday May 26, 6:19 pm Eastern Time MADRID, May 26 (Reuters) - Spain's social security system will cover the cost of some presciptions of the impotence pill Viagra once European medical authorities grant approval for the drug, Spanish officials said on Tuesday. But Health Minister Jose Manuel Robay said the national health system would not pay for casual use of Viagra but only for cases in which doctors find ''a condition that needs to be cured.'' He said Viagra, which has been hailed by some as a miracle cure for impotence since going on sale in the United States last month, would be allowed on the Spanish market only after it was deemed safe. Viagra, developed by Pfizer Inc (PFE - news), is available in only a handful of places in Europe. ''It's going to be studied with every precaution in order to prevent abuse of the drug,'' Robay told reporters. But Eduard Rius, health director for Catalonia region, said Robay should have waited until after European drug trials were completed before announcing that purchases would be covered by social security. Rius told the Spanish news agency Europa Press that tough decisions would have to be made on how the country's troubled health system could absorb the new costs. Medical authorities estimate that up to 1.4 million Spanish men suffer from some form of impotence. More than a million prescriptions have been written for Viagra, mostly to middle-aged men, since it was launched in the U.S. amid a blaze of media publicity. biz.yahoo.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (37)	5/26/1998 7:06:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1722

BBC - More [Saudi] patients hospitalised after taking Viagra Tuesday, May 26, 1998 Published at 17:15 GMT 18:15 UK Saudi men have been hospitalised after taking Viagra Four Saudi men are reported to have been treated in intensive care units of private hospitals after taking the new anti-impotence drug Viagra. The report - in the newspaper Al-Iktisadiya - follows the launch of an investigation into the drug by the US Food and Drug Administration, which announced that six men had died after taking the drug, hailed as a wonder cure for impotence. One of the patients, aged 50, is said to have suffered a heart attack but have been released from hospital on Monday. There were no details of the state of the other three Saudis. Black market sales Viagra has been selling on the black market in Saudi Arabia, where it will be made available by prescription in three to six months, a health ministry official said. In a similar case, three men were hospitalised in Egypt on Saturday after taking Viagra. Egypt has banned the sale of the drug until its side-effects have been fully tested. Huge popularity in the United States More than one million Americans are believed to have taken Viagra since it was launched just weeks ago. Makers Pfizer insist the drug is safe, but have stressed it should not be taken by anyone already taking nitroglycerin or other nitrate drugs prescribed for heart disease. However Viagra has also been associated with blurred vision, headaches and stomach ache. news.bbc.co.uk