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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (7085)	2/24/1999 12:32:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Viagra Used Recreationally On British Club Scene Wednesday February 24 10:44 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Viagra, the top selling anti-impotence pill, is being used by young people in British nightclubs in potentially lethal combination with cocaine, ecstasy and other illegal drugs, researchers said. ''The recreational use of Viagra by apparently healthy women and men is now occurring in Britain,'' Judith Aldridge and Fiona Measham, senior researchers at the University of Manchester, said in a letter posted on The British Medical Journal Internet site. Aldridge and Measham interviewed young adults at nightclubs in northern England within weeks of the launch of the drug in Britain last year. Customers and staff said the triangular blue pills made by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer were readily available for 10 pounds ($16) for a 50mg tablet. Most of the men and women who admitted taking Viagra used it simultaneously with other drugs and alcohol. ''Of particular concern is the combination use of Viagra with amyl nitrite ('poppers'), both of which dilate blood vessels, and can result in a dangerous drop in blood pressure potentially causing heart attack or stroke,'' the researchers said. All of the people who admitted using Viagra reported positive effects: enhanced sexual desire and love-making, and feelings of warmth. They got the drug from friends, partners, dealers, sex shops or via the Internet. Ironically, the drug is not as freely available for many impotent men who need it. Fearful that demand could bankrupt the country's government funded National Health Service (NHS), Health Secretary Frank Dobson issued proposals suggesting Viagra should only be prescribed in the NHS system for men whose impotence is caused by a physical condition. The move infuriated doctors who said the policy was unacceptable and unethical. The British Medical Association advised doctors to defy the government and prescribe the drug to patients who would benefit from it. Earlier this year a British urologist warned that misuse of Viagra as an aphrodisiac to improve sexual performance could cause prolonged erections that could lead to permanent impotence. More than 70 men have died after taking Viagra, prompting Pfizer to add new warnings on the drug's label that men with a history of heart disease, low blood pressure and heart attacks should be examined before taking the pill. ($1-.6235 Pound) dailynews.yahoo.com