VIAGRA HUNT

CUSTOMS CLAMPS DOWN ON 'COMMERCIAL AMOUNTS'

Canada Customs is on Viagra alert.

So watch out -- border inspectors are targeting smugglers with commercial
quantities of the highly acclaimed sex-enhancement drug for men.

"Until the government approves (Viagra), then we'll be looking for it,"
said Sean, an inspector at the Coutts border crossing, 320 km south of
Calgary,who wouldn't divulge his last name.

Small amounts considered for personal use only are being allowed across the
border, he said.

"It's more for commercial quantities, that kind of thing," said Sean.

"Small amounts -- we're not too worried about." Quantities considered about
three months personal supply are tolerated.

"Whatever the dosage is on the label, we judge it from that," he said.

Viagra lowers blood pressure as it heightens libido.

And there's been speculation that Canadians will be crossing the border to
bring back the diamond-shaped blue pill that increases blood flow to the
genitals.

Viagra, which went on sale in the U.S. in April, is undergoing clinical
trials in Canada, where federal officials have said it should be approved
and legally available by December.

The Coutts official said he isn't aware of any incidents of the drug being
found or seized at Alberta border crossings.

"It's awful early. I don't think it's really hit this side of the country
yet," said Sean.

Border inspectors looking for Viagra are checking pharmaceutical invoices,
as well as vehicle compartments normally inspected during routine checks.

Any illegal quantity of the drug would be seized, and the smuggler could be
fined as much as 80% of the drug's value, which is $10 a pill at U.S.
pharmacies

But customs inspectors aren't clamping down on Viagra with the same force
as substances such as steroids. "(Viagra) can't be that bad if they're
letting some of it in," he said.

Any Viagra confiscated would be held by Health Canada officials, who would
decide what to do with it, said Sean.

Some Canadians are reportedly also turning to the Internet to acquire
Viagra and risk buying fraudulent products, say medical experts.

But not everything is rosy with Viagra -- six Americans have died after
taking it.

"The drug must not be taken by people with a history of heart complaints,
or by anyone taking drugs involving nitrates," says Pfizer.

In New York, the drug has caused the fire department to change its
emergency protocol for cardiac patients.

The department has added Viagra to the list of medicines that emergency
workers must ask cardiac patients before beginning treatment.

Three of the six dead men took Viagra while taking nitrate medicine.

As well, some side effects for men include headaches, blue-tinged vision
and upset stomachs.

Viagra also relaxes women's genital muscles, allowing blood to rush in,
engorge the pelvic area and swell the clitoris -- the female equivalent of
the penis.

One study reports that women who have had hysterectomies or their ovaries
removed say Viagra orgasms are as intense as they were before surgery.