Viagra goes OTC
in United Kingdom

Who said romance is dead? In the United Kingdom the anti-impotence drug Viagra goes on sale over the counter for the first time February 14. The date happens to be Valentine's Day--and, in the U.K., National Impotence Day.

Men with erection problems will be able to buy the infamous blue pill without having to get a doctor's prescription first. Those age 30 to 65 can have a short consultation with a pharmacist, then buy a pack of four tablets for $98 at branches of Boots, a mass-market drugstore participating in a pilot program.

To ensure safety, customers must give medical histories and have their blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels tested.

"This is an innovation in access to treatment of erectile dysfunction," Boots health care director Alex Gourlay said of the pilot program at three Manchester stores. "We hope we help more men seek help for a common condition."

Not everybody will see it in such rosy terms. On the gay club scene, Viagra is simply "part of the package." For those who want to run with the big boys, steroids are de rigueur, and to keep up with the 48-hour disco circuit, chemical cocktails form the backbone of many a gay boy's weekend.

Of course, in case you didn't know, if you're wired on coke, gurning on E, or cracked out on crystal meth, the chances of getting a healthy boner are quite remote.

Unless you're completely comfortable being seen as a greedy bottom who can't get it up, Viagra is the solution to a very gay and hedonistic problem. The pills can be bought on the black market from most recreational drug dealers for about $10.

In the United States, the trend for using Viagra at sex parties, saunas, and as an aid to meth-fueled Internet sex has become so widespread that it's reached the mainstream news.

Last month one of the nation's largest HIV/AIDS health care providers filed a suit against Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra. They accused the company of encouraging the recreational use of the drug and in doing so contributing to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

The lawsuit alleges that Pfizer engaged in "unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices" in violation of the California Business and Professions Code and seeks to force the company to begin a public education program primarily aimed at men who have sex with men "about the increased risks of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases associated with using Pfizer's Viagra."

Their argument is quite simple: If you're going to have sex longer, with more partners, you're more likely to be exposed to STDs--and more likely to spread them if you're already infected.

The lawsuit has the backing of Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

"Several of our studies and those I reviewed for my research showed strong independent associations between the use of Viagra and increased sexual risk behavior, including an increased risk for diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV infection," Klausner said when the lawsuit was announced.

"The promotion of Viagra for what some have called 'recreational use' must be stopped. Why the FDA has not acted on this is unclear to me," Klausner said.

Pfizer has denied any wrongdoing and has said it will fight the lawsuit in court.

The matter is further complicated by the fact that men living with HIV often report erectile dysfunction.

A study by St. Mary's Hospital in west London found that 26% of its gay male patients with HIV reported low libido, and the same percentage reported problems achieving an erection.

When it came to individuals taking antiretrovirals, the proportion with erectile dysfunction increased to 48%, although the proportion of men experiencing loss of libido did not increase.

In a control group of HIV-negative men, the percentages were 2% and 10% respectively for loss of libido and erectile dysfunction.

Pepe Catalan, consultant psychiatrist at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, confirms that "sexual dysfunction is very common in people with HIV, even in patients not on antiretrovirals. "I see two or three patients a week here for it," he said.

Matthew Hodson of the group Gay Men Fighting AIDS told Gay.com: "It's neither wholly good nor wholly bad. Gay men obviously take Viagra with recreational drugs that have a disinhibiting effect, and therefore there's increased potential for transmission of HIV and other infections.

"That said, some men have difficulty maintaining a hard-on when using condoms. Viagra can actually encourage safe sex in those circumstances," Hodson said. "GMFA absolutely believe that all gay men have the right to a full and fulfilling sex life.

"Another important thing to say is that Viagra and poppers [amyl nitrate] can kill you," Hodson said. "I doubt Boots will be telling you that when you buy it over the counter--but there again, I doubt your black-market drug dealer would mention that either." (Stewart Who?, Gay.com/U.K.)