Pubdate: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 Source: Scotsman (UK) Contact: Website: http://www.scotsman.com/ Author: Jennifer Trueland, Health Correspondent 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