§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on prescribing practice for Viagra. [97097]
538W
§ Mr. LammyIn 1999 we decided to constrain the spend on drug treatments for impotence to the approximate amount that was being spent on these treatments before the first oral treatment became available.
On 1 July 1999, regulations put into effect decisions made by the Government about the availability of drug treatments for impotence on general practitioner (GP) prescription on the national health service. GPs can write NHS prescriptions for patients with specific clinical conditions. These conditions are set out in Health Service Circular HSC 1999/148.
Health Service Circular HSC 1999/177 provides guidance on the identification and management within specialist services of the men diagnosed to be suffering from severe distress on account of their impotence.
Viagra and other drug treatments may be made available on private prescription from GPs for those men who do not meet the conditions specified in HSC 1999/148. As prescription only medicines they are subject to the legal controls on retail sale or supply which are set out in the Medicines Act 1968. They can only be sold or supplied at registered pharmacy premises by or under the supervision of a pharmacist in accordance with a doctor's prescription and they cannot be advertised to the public. The Medicines Control Agency's Enforcement Group investigates alleged illegal activity, including supply of prescription medicines via the internet.