Holiday sex that could kill
2001-06-07 12:05
Bangkok - A roaring illegal trade in Viagra in the Thai holiday island of
Phuket is posing a major health risk to older male visitors who buy
the impotence pills, a report said on Thursday.
"This is a serious concern. Demand from tourists has raised sales
of the drug," provincial public health chief Boonriang
Chuchaisaengrat told the Bangkok Post.
Viagra can easily be ordered from hospitals and pharmacies in
Phuket and delivered right to the hotel room - all without a
prescription, he said.
"Most consumers are middle-aged and old men who want to have sex but do not understand the safe use of the drug," Boonriang said,
adding that the impotence cure can put immense strain on the heart.
He urged sex tourists to have a proper check-up before being
prescribed Viagra by a specialist doctor.
Thailand, which was the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise
the anti-impotence pill, is a haven for illicit peddlers of Viagra
who have also targeted international consumers through websites
marketing the drug.
Viagra, which is only available on prescription throughout much of
the world, is widely abused in Bangkok's notorious red-light
district.
Bar-owners and prostitutes sell Viagra obtained from underground
chemists or legal pharmacists who dump some of their supply onto
the black market, where it is dispensed without any medical advice. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA