There is no shortage of counterfeit Viagra but it can be potentially dangerous
IT CAN be the bane of an e-mail account: the unsolicited and sometimes hourly offers of cheap drugs on offer to enhance male performance in the bedroom.
Thanks in part to the embarrassment factor, counterfeit copies of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction now flood the world wide web and other ungoverned outlets, and experts warn that buyers could be putting their health at risk.
Around half of all Viagra tablets obtained via the internet are fakes, according to Pfizer spokeswoman Tara Delaney. "Viagra is one of the most counterfeited medicines in the world, and in 2005 it accounted for 70 per cent of the total seizure of counterfeit medicines," she says.
Such knock-offs are not only illegal but potentially dangerous as they could contain too much of the active ingredient, or toxic substances, she adds, noting that Pfizer is working against distribution of fake versions.
It's a concern shared by doctors who prescribe the drug legitimately. "What bothers me most is that I hear of guys being offered Viagra in the pub, or over the internet, at prices which are below wholesale prices, and that makes me wonder what's happening here," says Dr Mel Bates from the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
"My concern would be that they are using some of the active ingredient but they are doctoring the drug and it isn't being monitored by the Irish Medicinces Board, so you are never sure of what you are getting in it," says Bates.
You may even end up getting tablets that are filled with chalk dust and coated with furniture varnish, suggests men's health expert Prof Ian Banks.
In addition, there are good reasons for getting a medical check-up for erectile dysfunction, as it can be a red flag for other, more life-threatening problems, such as diabetes or heart disease, which a doctor can then pick up on.
"If you have erectile dysfunction you want to find out why you have got it, and then potentially the doctor can get to these guys before the underlying condition can kill them," says Banks.
"That's one of the big advantages, but the problem is now that the drugs are on the web, it undercuts that, so we have to stamp that out as hard as we can."