Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has declared that Viagra will be available over the counter from June 2009 without the need for a prescription. Well, this means it could be available without a prescription for use by men only over 18 who have erectile dysfunction.

Some other newspapers reported the move to make the erectile dysfunction drug available for sale at selected Boots pharmacies.

Generally the drug can only be provided with a doctor’s prescription but now following a pilot scheme in Manchester only trained pharmacists will now be able to sell this medicine to men it’s all depending on their responses to a brief health assessment. 

Does this mean, Go into a pharmacy and buy viagra?

Opposite to newspaper reports viagra will not be obtainable over the counter and remains confidential as a prescription-only drug. Only Boots has been given permission to provide the drug in only 29 stores and only to men who clear a suitability assessment performed by a specially trained pharmacist. Yet Boots are the only pharmacy to have been given such permission.

The boots evaluation adds a health questionnaire and a 30-minute consultation to check some sort of details such as medical history, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar.  Men will also have to agree to pass on every information to their doctor and maybe also asked to attend follow-up sessions with their pharmacist. 

If the drug is prescription only why have Boots been given permission to sell

Medical professionals also trained pharmacists can apply for permission to issue certain drugs under the Patient Group Direction scheme. To get authorization pharmacies must be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency and the Care Quality Commission which control the provision of medicines and healthcare.

Boots are the only pharmacist who gets permission to sell prescription-only viagra and any issuing of viagra must be followed by appropriate health checks. This is just because viagra can potentially interact with some common medicines like blood pressure and angina medication and create some complications if used by people with certain health conditions.

Does this mean anyone can buy viagra online?

Yes anyone can order Viagra online without getting a physical prescription first but you need to be very careful about where you order it from.

You need to find the right website. There are lots of online retailers that offer the option of buying Viagra however many of them aren’t licensed or legal. That means you won’t be safely checked by a doctor first, and on top of that, the medication they supply might be harmful.

If you buy any medication online, you should always check before ordering whether the service you’re using has been approved by the General Medical Council and the General Pharmaceutical Council, and is reviewed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Be careful of websites that claim that the ‘Viagra’ they’re selling increases penis size causes erections directly, or can be bought without an evaluation first. If a website advertises medication with false claims then it means they are highly likely to be illegitimate and unsafe.

You should always keep in mind that Viagra is a prescription-only drug. If any website selling it without involving a doctor in the ordering process is breaking the law.

Prescription-free Viagra is the same as prescription-only Viagra?

The Quali of the drug will be the same whether you buy Viagra in person with a  prescription or you buy online. The Quality will remain the same if you buy Viagra Connect in person at a pharmacy, or online.

It doesn’t matter whether you buy in person or online, both medications should contain the same active ingredient, sildenafil citrate. How effective the drug is, what it does inside your body how to save it is and possible side effects are all the same

The only difference in quality would come from a seller or service that was not properly licensed or regulated.

How to decide if an online pharmacy is regulated?

The RPS has developed a logo that will appear on the first page of the registered online pharmacies website. illegal websites somehow manage to copied and display this logo so, in addition to this, the RPS recommends that users do the following:

• Check the registration status of the pharmacist.
• The pharmacy which is operating the website should have genuine bricks and mortar pharmacies, so you just have to look at its name and street address.
• Websites who sell prescription-only medicines are likely to be illegal in Great Britain.
• Be Doubtful, if you’re not asked some questions about your health or the drug before you buy it. Registered pharmacies are bound to determine whether the medicine is suitable for you through an online consultation.

Why do you need a prescription for Viagra?

There are some legal and safety reasons. Viagra is a prescription-only drug, so it can only be legally sold to you if you have a prescription from a doctor, or you’ve been assessed by an online doctor service. Over the counter, Viagra connect has the same active ingredient but this drug is legal to sell without a prescription first. But still, you need to be assessed before you can buy it.

Are there any prescription-free alternatives to Viagra?

Viagra Connect is the only one drug over-the-counter erectile dysfunction treatment available without a prescription.

But all the other drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction can be purchased online without a physical prescription first, in the same way as prescription-only Viagra. These other drugs are all prescription-only, but you don’t need a physical prescription. You just need a proper evaluation from a doctor, which you can get online.

Some Other erectile dysfunction pills are:

• Cialis and Cialis Daily – active ingredient, tadalafil
• Levitra – active ingredient, vardenafil
• Spedra – active ingredient, avanafil

There is also another non-pill medication used to treat erectile dysfunction is Alprostadil. It’s a vasodilator which widens the blood vessels to allow blood to flow into the penis more easily. It is available as a penile injection (Caverject) or cream (Vitaros).

There are some other erectile dysfunction treatments that don’t involve prescription medications, which can help improve erectile dysfunction. These are:

• Making some lifestyle changes – improving your diet, getting more exercise, quitting smoking
• Some Exercises – pelvic floor exercises can make the muscles around your penis stronger and make erections easier to get
• Few Devices – a penis pump can be an alternative for men who can’t take medication. Penis rings are also available, but there’s less evidence that they work effectively for erectile dysfunction
• Counseling and psychotherapy – these can help with any anxiety or emotional problems that are causing your erectile dysfunction. Speak to your doctor for further info on these

If you are concerned about the validity of a particular retail pharmacy website, contact the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

If somehow you have taken an illegal drug and are concerned about possible side effects, feel free to speak to a healthcare professional or get some medical treatment.