At £50 for four, Viagra goes on sale in the high street

From Wednesday - Valentine's Day - they will be able to walk into Boots and purchase the anti-impotence drug.

Previously they had to see their GP or a specialist doctor to discuss their problem and get a prescription.

Now, after a short talk with a pharmacist and some simple tests, they can leave with four of the diamond-shaped blue pills.

The cost of the consultation and the drug will be £50.

Boots said it hopes the move, being piloted in three Manchester branches, will help more men combat impotence. It may even act as an extra form of screening to flag up other health problems.

But there are also fears that men without genuine problems could obtain the drug simply to enhance their love-making skills.

It also remains to be seen whether the checks will prevent Viagra being given to men for whom it could produce dangerous side-effects, such as those with heart problems.

Viagra is the latest in a series of drugs being made available without a visit to the GP.

Boots operates similar schemes for the weight-loss drug Xenical, a hair restoration product and chlamydia treatments, and only last week it emerged that the contraceptive pill could be sold over the counter.

The morning-after pill was made available without a prescription six years ago.

Viagra works by relaxing blood vessels and making it easier for men to get an erection.

Since its launch in 1998 it has been taken by 27 million men, including 900,000 in the UK.

However it is not recommended for people with heart problems who take drugs called nitrates, as the combination could lead to dangerously low blood pressure.

Some patients who have taken the pills have also experienced a sudden decrease or loss of vision.

Despite this, manufacturer Pfizer had been in discussions about getting the drug sold over the counter.

Now Boots has announced a trial making it available without a prescription.

Men between 30 and 65 can get a pack of four tablets after a consultation with a pharmacist in which they must give a detailed medical history and talk about their symptoms.

During the hour-long appointment there will be checks on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose to spot potential heart problems or diabetes.

A fax will be sent to the man's GP during the consultation and they will be given information on how to make an appointment with a private doctor who specialises in erectile dysfunction.

This second appointment will include follow-up checks before they can be given more pills. The branches will share information to stop a man going from one to the other.

If the pilot is a success, the company could roll the scheme out nationwide.

Alex Gourlay, Boots healthcare director, said: "It is estimated that only ten per cent of the three million men who suffer with erectile dysfunction are currently being treated. We believe offering this programme will improve access to treatment."

The company said men will be asked their name, address and GP details, but will not automatically have to provide ID.

Dr Ian Banks, of the Men's Health Forum, welcomed the scheme.

He said: "The only problems occur if Viagra is taken by men who are also taking nitrate drugs for chest pain. Pharmacists will make these checks and that is why we would prefer men to get Viagra from a pharmacist rather than over the Internet."

Viagra by numbers

• 14 minutes - the quickest time in which it can start to work

• 6 hours - the point at which its effects wear off

• 27 million - men around the world who have been prescribed it

• 900,000 - British men who have taken Viagra to date

• 33 - years of marriage cast aside by Johnny Kidd, father of supermodel Jodie, after taking Viagra and abandoning wife Wendy for a woman almost half his age

• 1998 - the year Viagra was launched

• 3 million - British men with erectile dysfunction

• 32 - incidents of vision loss reported in men taking Viagra

• 102 - reported deaths in British men linked to the drug, through exacerbating hearth problems or over-exertion in the bedroom

• 50 - milligrammes in the most common dose, but it also comes in strengths of 25 and 100 mg

• £19.34 - cost of a pack of four 50mg tablets for the NHS

• 100mg - maximum recommended dose within a 24 hour period

• 250,000 - number of fake Viagra tablets found in a single raid on North London fake-drug operation

• 130 - completed and ongoing studies on Viagra to date