Love drug Viagra is to be made available over the counter at island chemists.

Member for Health and Social Care Ann Corlett told Tynwald this week that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency had approved an application by drug company Pfizer to allow Viagra to be supplied without prescription by pharmacies.

Under the island’s Medicines Act, the Isle of Man follows the recommendations of the MHRA so the anti-impotence drug will be available over the counter here too.

Mrs Corlett pointed out that the approval relates only to Viagra Connect.

She explained: ’Like many drugs, Viagra is produced in different strengths. Viagra Connect contains 50mg of Sildenafil.

’Following the MHRA decision, it is now legally possible to purchase Sildenafil - or the brand name, Viagra Connect - from pharmacy outlets with a maximum dose and a pack size of eight tablets.’

Mrs Corlett said Viagra Connect tablets should only be sold to men who suffer from erectile dysfunction. Patients will be assessed by a pharmacist and made aware of the risks.

But she said it is considered that there is a low risk of direct danger and of intentional abuse that will lead to a danger to human health - low risks are outweighed by the benefits including the reduced risk of using counterfeits obtained via the internet.

Medicines containing Sildenafil will still also be available to obtain on prescription.

Ramsey MHK Alex Allinson, who raised the issue in Tynwald, couldn’t resist thanking Mrs Corlett for her ’firm grasp of the subject’.

He pointed out that erectile dysfunction can be a symptom of underlying disorder.

Dr Allinson said that the MHRA decision was in response to more and more people buying what they thought was Viagra over the internet - and suggested this was a ’pragmatic response to a growing problem’.