TAXPAYERS’ STIFF €1.4M VIAGRA BILL 900K illegal meds seized
TAXPAYERS got stiffed with a €1.4 million bill for erectile dysfunction drugs that were doled out to more than 47,000 medical card holders last year, The Star can reveal.
A total of 47,422 people picked up Viagra or similar drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) free of charge on the medical card scheme during 2023 at a cost of over €1.37m.
The county with the largest number of medical card holders prescribed ED medication under the scheme last year was Galway, with Limerick right behind.
Conditions
last year was €1.72 million, which supplied 62,737 individuals with the little blue pills.
The annual bill for the taxpayer has fallen dramatically since 2013, when Pfizer’s Viagra came off patent meaning that other pharmaceutical companies could begin to produce generic versions of the drug..
Since January 2021, Viagra has also been available over the counter in the form of Viagra Connect, which contains 50mg of the active ingredient, sildenafil citrate, whereas higher doses are available on prescription.
Other ED drugs provided to patients under the medical card scheme last year included tadalafil, which is the generic version of Cialis; and avanafil, which is the cheaper version of Stendra.
A significant number of medical card holders were still prescribed Viagra last year, despite the Health Service Executive (HSE) previously stating that it would only cover the cost of cheaper generic anti-impotence pills under the scheme.
Substantial
ALMOST 900,000 dosage units of illegal medicines were seized by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) last year.
Two prosecutions resulted relating to the importation or distribution of anabolic steroids and 2,348 websites, ecommerce listings and social media pages were amended or shut down.
Of that figure around 205,922 anabolic steroids were seized.
Grainne Power, Director of Compliance with HPRA, said they fear young men are “sourcing anabolic steroids for body enhancement while being unaware of the serious health complications posed by these products.”