SIDE EFFECTS FEAR SCUPPERS SURGE IN SEX DRUG SALES

UNGROUNDED fears about side effects are frightening some men from
taking anti-impotence drug Viagra, a leading specialist warned
yesterday as it emerged that the expected surge in sales of the sex
drug have not materialised.

Six months after the much hyped arrival of Viagra on the Irish market,
another anti-impotence treatment is to be launched today.

But while the Government has yet to decide whether Viagra should be
made available to medical card holders, the new treatment, MUSE, is
automatically being placed on the free scheme.

Impotence affects around 120,000 Irishmen and Viagra has been credited
with bringing the spotlight on the problem and raising awareness of
the condition which still causes embarrassment.

Dublin urologist Ted McDermott said yesterday that concern about
alleged side effects was scaring off some patients who could benefit
from Viagra.

“I have patients who are literally afraid of it. They have the
prescription in their hand but are afraid to go the chemist,” said Mr
McDermott who treats impotence sufferers in a number of Dublin hospitals.

He stressed, however, that despite anecdotal reports blaming Viagra,
the drug had not been directly linked to any deaths or heart problems
in patients anywhere in the world.

Viagra is not recommended for those on nitrate therapy but people with
existing heart conditions may run the risk of increased blood pressure
or other problems, not as a result of the drug but due to the
excitement of sexual activity which they are not accustomed to.

“People are coming into my clinic and they know more about the
potential side effects of Viagra than paracetamol but the latter
causes more liver failure than any other drug,” said Mr McDermott.

The report by a monitoring committee, set up by the Department of
Health to look at the prescribing trends for Viagra, is now in its
final draft.

It will be instrumental in the decision on whether Viagra will be made
available on the medical card.

Originally, health chiefs here predicted that it would cost up to
IEP20m if allowed on the medical card with those taking it using
between four and 10 tablets per month.

The statistics, however, are likely to reflect the trend of those to
be published by the Department of Health in Britain which show that in
the first four months of its availability there it cost the NHS just
IEP200,000, with less than 5,000 prescriptions written.

The new anti-impotence treatment, MUSE, differs from Viagra in that it
is not taken orally but instead involves the insertion of a pellet the
size of a grain of rice into the tip of the penis.

It takes effect within 5-10 minutes and lasts between 30-60
minutes.

It will cost in the region of IEP20 per dose.