Boots offers the anti-impotence drug Viagra availability on the High Street without a prescription from Valentine’s Day, reported by BBC.
Impotence, often called erectile dysfunction, refers to the male’s inability to achieve or maintain an e rection long enough to engage in se xual intercourse.
Boots the chemist is introducing a trial scheme at three of its branches in Manchester. Men aged between 30 and 65 will be able to buy four pills for ?50 after a consultation with the pharmacist.
The pilot scheme begins on 14 February – Valentine’s Day.
Viagra is a trademark used for the drug sildenafil citrate. First oral drug for male impotence, generic name sildenafil. Before the FDA approved Viagra in 1998, impotence was treated with surgical implants, suppositories, pumps, and drugs injected into the penis. Taken as a pill shortly before se xual intercourse, Viagra selectively dilates blood vessels in the penis, improving blood flow and allowing a natural se xual response. It works in about 70% of cases; it should not be used by anyone taking nitroglycerin or with heart problems, hypotension, hypertension, recent stroke, or certain eye disorders.
Boots’s decision to sell the drug over the counter from Wednesday at three of its stores in Manchester coincides with Valentine’s Day and National Impotence Day. If the pilot scheme is successful, it will be extended to branches throughout Britain.
Customers will have to reveal their medical history to a pharmacist, and have their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels tested, before they can purchase the packet of four diamond-shaped blue tablets for ?50.
It is estimated that Viagra, manufactured by Pfizer, is taken by 27 million men worldwide, including around 900,000 in Britain. Viagra has faced strong competition from rival drugs such Cialis, manufactured by Eli Lilly, which can work for 36 hours.