DOCTOR WARNS OF WOMEN'S CRAZE FOR SEX DRUG

WOMEN desperate to achieve heightened sexual pleasure will rush to get the
sex pill Viagra on the black market as soon as it is licensed in the UK, a
senior doctor has warned.

The drug, which will be prescribed to men suffering from impotence, can also
aid arousal in females and GPs have been told its use will spread like
"wildfire" as soon as women hear that it works.

It is still unclear how much a Viagra pill will cost in the UK because
Pfizer, the company which makes it, will set a price it believes the market
can sustain, but it is estimated it could sell privately for as much as
UKP15 a tablet. Unofficial estimates suggest that there could be a UKP20
charge for a prescription of three pills plus the cost of private
consultation, which could reach UKP50.

Anecdotal evidence from America, where the drug is being tested on women,
suggest it is just as successful in promoting female sexual enjoyment as it
is in aiding potency problems in men.

Derek Machin, a urologist in Liverpool, said at the British Medical
Association conference in Cardiff yesterday that the drug was likely to be
abused by women desperate to achieve orgasm. "Some women will get their
hands on it. They will find out that it works and it will spread. It is very
difficult to control something once it is available.

"It's just impossible to release a drug like Viagra and for it not to be
used by those people who might benefit. Once it is available it will be used
- - word of mouth is the best recommendation and if it is as good as we hear
it is demand will increase exponentially."

Mr Machin had previously warned the BMA that meeting male demand for the
pill could cost the NHS UKP1 billion - a quarter of the drugs budget.

He added yesterday that it was not only drugs like heroin and tranquillisers
which were open to abuse and that while the Viagra remained unlicensed for
women they would try to get it on the black market.

Methods could include buying it through the Internet under a male pseudonym
or persuading their partner to obtain a prescription.

A spokeswoman for Pfizer said a female version of the drug was being
researched but that it could be years away from being licensed.

The drug needs to be taken about an hour before the patient plans
intercourse. But its effects will only be felt when the patient begins to be
aroused.

Each diamond-shaped pill will cost the NHS UKP6, but there is likely to be
considerable private demand for Viagra, as there will be very long waiting
lists for patients to be seen by hospital urologists to be prescribed the drug.

The long lists could mean a boom for private clinics which will be able to
charge virtually what they liked for a consultation before the pill was
prescribed.

Viagra has been controversial since it was introduced in America four months
ago. At least a dozen men have died while taking the drug, but it has proved
immensely popular not only for men who are impotent but also for those who
want to enhance their performance.

Tessa Jowell, the health minister, has said Viagra will be available on the
NHS, for clinical use, if as expected it is licensed in the UK later this year.

A spokesman from the Department of Health said Viagra could be licensed for
the whole of Europe as early as September, but it was likely that it would
be available only to men on prescription.

A private Glasgow clinic is exploiting a loophole in the law to supply the
controversial impotence drug Viagra, it was revealed yesterday.

The Regency Medical Clinic in the city's West End has been dispensing the
drug on a named patient basis which allows doctors to supply drugs which are
unlicensed.

The loophole, under which the doctor takes personal responsibility for any
adverse effects the drug may cause, is designed to allow new drugs for
life-threatening conditions to be administered before the lengthy licencing
process is complete.

The Government's Medicines Control Agency said it had reports of around 20
private clinics using the named patient method to sell Viagra in the UK. The
Glasgow clinic is the first instance of the drug being sold in Scotland to
have been uncovered.

A spokeswoman for the Regency Medical Clinic confirmed it is selling the
drug. "We have got no secrets. It is all above board. We will be contacting
all our patients to reassure them."

Under the named patient system the doctor must make the patient fully aware
of the dangers of taking the drug and keep a strict record of the patients
condition.

The named patient law is usually used in extreme cases of life threatening
diseases, and even then infrequently because of liability it places on the
doctor if any problems occur.

A Greater Glasgow Health Board spokeswoman said they would be making
inquiries into the Glasgow clinic. "We are concerned about the use of any
medicines which have not received a licence for use under any circumstances
in this country.

"We would strongly advise anyone who has a problem with impotence to go to
their GP for help."

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett