Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1068)	11/17/1998 1:24:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

BBC: Consumers' group demands free Viagra Monday, November 16, 1998 Published at 23:23 GMT Viagra should be free on the NHS, says the Consumers' Association Viagra should be available free on the NHS because it offers benefits that other impotence treatments do not, says the Consumers' Association. The association says the drug, nicknamed Pfizer's riser after its manufacturer, offers a "more natural sexual experience" than other methods including injections, implants, inserted capsules and hydraulic and vacuum constriction devices. The association's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin says the drug produces relatively few side effects and withholding it was not justified in the light of clinical evidence. Editor Joe Collier said: "Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin believes that treatment with Viagra should be available on the NHS to men who meet the conditions set in its summary of product characteristics, which identifies many men as suitable for treatment. However, he said GPs would need guidelines on how to prescribe it to ensure it was not used "inappropriately". Temporary ban The government has slapped a temporary ban on NHS prescription of Viagra because of concerns about the cost of prescribing it. Health authorities have been asked not to spend NHS money on Viagra except in "exceptional circumstances". The government is expected to make an announcement on its policy on Viagra in the next two weeks. One in 10 British men is thought to suffer from impotence. Viagra was cleared for sale in Europe in October. The government says the price of the drug - at around £5 a pill - should come down and is setting guidelines on how doctors should prescribe it. A report in The Observer this week said that the government was unlikely to put more funding into impotence than the £12m a year it currently spends. It added that health officials were also considering only allowing doctors to prescribe the drug for people who were impotent because of physical problems. Doctors say this would be difficult to administer. Interaction A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association said there were only certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, which would clearly come into this category. Men who take some heart disease drugs and some types of prostate problems could also cause impotence. But the majority of impotence cases were "an interplay" of various factors, including the psychological, she said. "Psychological and organic causes can be interactive. When people have a problem they may begin to worry which could create a vicious circle. It would be very difficult to disentangle." "If people are clinically impotent there is a need for treatment, whatever the cause," she added. The King's Fund is discussing the drug rationing issue on Tuesday morning. Journalist Melanie Philips will argue that Viagra should not be available on the NHS because it is a "lifestyle" drug, but urologist Roger Kirby is expected to say that impotence is just as real a problem as other medical ailments. The debate will involve doctors, commentators, nurses, patients and voluntary organisations and will encompass other so-called lifestyle drugs such as Xenical, the new anti-obesity drug. news.bbc.co.uk