Q&A on Viagra without prescription
The Daily Mirror carried a report about Viagra tablets becoming available over the counter from Friday June 19 without the need for a prescription. Also, several other newspapers had reported that moves were being finalised to make the popular erectile dysfunction drug available for sale at selected Boots pharmacies.
Normally, the drug is only available for a patient to buy after he has obtained a prescription from his doctor, but a pilot scheme conducted in Manchester now means that trained pharmacists will be able to sell the drug to men depending on the outcome of the brief health assessment they would undergo.
For people who are interested in buying Viagra tablets with no prescription, below are a few frequently asked questions to guide you with the decision.
Does the daily mail report mean that I can now go into a pharmacy and buy Viagra?
Contrary to the newspaper report, there are no plans to make Viagra an “over the counter” drug, and the magic pills still exclusively remained a prescription drug. Though Boots pharmacy has been given permission to issue the drug in 29 stores, only men who have been able to clear a suitability assessment performed by a specially trained pharmacist are eligible to benefit from the scheme.
In addition, Boots remains the only pharmacy to have been given such permission so far.
The Boots assessment involves providing a health questionnaire for the man to complete, while making them go through a 30-minute consultation to check a number of factors, such as medical history, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar. Also, the men will have to agree to pass information on to their doctor and may be requested to attend follow-up sessions with their pharmacists.
Why has Boots been given permission to sell Viagra tablets, if the drug is prescription only?
Under the Patient Group Direction scheme, it is possible for medical professionals, including trained pharmacists to apply for permission to issue certain drugs. Any pharmacies which want to get such permission must get an approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency and the Care Quality Commission, the regulatory body for the provision of medicines and healthcare.
Because Boots is the only pharmacist to have received such permission to sell the prescription-only Viagra tablets, any pharmacy that issues Viagra must back it up with appropriate health checks.
This is to guard against the possibility of severe adverse effects by Viagra, which is capable of interacting with common medicines, such as hypertension and angina medications, or can cause complications if used by people with certain health conditions.
Can I buy Viagra online?
Selling any drug without an appropriate licence is illegal. In the UK currently, there are no online pharmacists that are licensed to distribute Viagra tablets without prescription. Any websites that claim to sell Viagra tablets is not genuine, as they could not got a regulation from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPS) and concerns over the quality, safety and effectiveness of their products would exist.
A recent survey of doctors carried out by the GP medical newspaper found that one in four have treated patients for problems that were caused by medicines bought from the internet.
What are the risks of buying Viagra tablets online?
People who attempt to buy Viagra pills online not only risk wasting their money on costly fakes, but putting their health in danger.
Online drugs claiming to be Viagra may be counterfeit or may contain unsafe levels of active ingredients or could contain other added substances that could be harmful.
Because most websites are not unregulated, there is assurance of important safety measure.
