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Date: Sunday, 11-Feb-2007
In what will be seen by many as perfect timing, from Valentine's Day on men in Britain will be able to buy the impotence treatment Viagra over the counter for the first time.The chemist chain Alliance Boots says as part of a trial scheme three of it's Manchester pharmacies will sell the prescription-only medication from February 14th over the counter.
The pilot programme will mean men aged between 30 and 65 suffering from erectile dysfunction will be able to buy four Viagra pills for 50 pounds without a prescription.
Before they are given the drug the pharmacist will check their medical history and measure their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
Prior to receiving a repeat supply of the drugs a doctor will check that is appropriate and without risk to their health.
The consolation will cost £37.50. and subsequent packets of Viagra will then cost £21.25.
It is estimated that only 1 in 10 men suffering from erectile dysfunction are currently being treated and Boots already offers similar services for weight loss, hair retention and chlamydia treatments.
Boots healthcare says the programme is innovative and illustrates the potential of pharmacies to deliver treatment and advice on healthcare to patients with a wide range of conditions.
Boot's also believes that as erectile dysfunction is often an indication of more serious underlying medical conditions, the programme will also act as a men's health screen, where patients can be referred back to their GP for further investigation if necessary.
Figures suggest that to date 27 million men around the world have been prescribed Viagra and 900,000 British men have taken it.
Viagra can work as quickly as 14 minutes and the effects can last for up to 6 hours.
On the down side there have been some incidents of vision loss reported in men taking Viagra and in Britain 102 deaths have been linked to the drug.
Viagra comes in 25, 50, 100 milligrammes strengths, the most common dose is 50 mg.