As of today, in the United States and Canada, as well as in the majority of other countries across the globe, Viagra is sold only with prescription at pharmacies. The same prescription-only rule applies to all Viagra’s popular counterparts, like Cialis, Levitra, and some others.
When a medication becomes available widely not only by prescription it is titled an over the counter drug. There are existing means to obtain medications for erectile dysfunction online prescription-free but these often turn out to be counterfeit or contain “modified” components of questionable quality and of less-than-sure efficacy.
The attempts of the pharmaceutical companies to legalize prescription-free availability for Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra as over the counter drugs failed short in the United States and Canada. Even in European countries for the manufacturer of Viagra, the German company Pfizer, it was impossible to get a permission to sell a popular erectile dysfunction treatment as an over the counter drug available for anybody who walks in the store and asks for it. Among the reasons for the disapproval were concerns about the potential misuse, the extensive educational material required to accompany the drug, and the statistics that were saying that the underlying medical conditions that lead to erectile dysfunction would go basically untreated even when tricked by Viagra.
The same outcome awaited other treatments except Viagra. With one notable exception:
Sanofi, the French company that had the exclusive rights to market Cialis as an over the counter medication. When off patent, Sanofi can use its right to create all applications for over the counter approval in the countries of the European Union, in the United States, Australia, New Zeland and Canada.
In the recent years, there have been increased demand for the generic versions of Viagra. What is the generic version? Viagra is only a brand name, while the actual medication that helps in ED contains an active component, which is sildenafil citrate. When sildenafil citrate as a generic is administered, it has exactly the same effect as a branded pill that contains this active component. The generic versions of Viagra are usually made in India and are coming to the North American pharmaceutical market at the wholesale price, making the online retail price of a drug much lower than that of a branded pill. However, a consumer should be aware that, while generics do not have to be sold with prescription, they are subject to counterfeit or mis-dosage of an active component. Make sure to ascertain that the online seller you are thinking to purchase the generic Viagra from is legitimate.
Conclusion
For the near future, it is hard to imagine Viagra or any of the erectile dysfunction treatments becoming available as over the counter medications. A consumer may still buy generic versions of these through online pharmacies, but at his own risk.
For further advise or a medical consultations regarding generic Viagra and other available erectile dysfunction treatments, ask for a free consultation from Canadian Health&care pharmacists.