Viagra’s in town

By Andrew Adamides

THINGS are looking up for impotent Cypriots, as sex wonder-drug Viagra is now available – legally – on the Cyprus market.

The small blue diamond-shaped pills, which have become a worldwide phenomenon since their first appearance last year, made their first official appearance on the island yesterday at a gala launch at Nicosia’s Forum Intercontinental hotel.

The pills, originally intended by makers Pfizer as a treatment for heart ailments, have been hailed across the globe as a miracle cure for impotence. Normal dosage is 50mg, but the pill is also available in 100mg and 25mg formats.

The pharmaceutical board has warned that the pill will only be available strictly on prescription, and that the categories of doctors allowed to prescribe it will be limited. The Board has underlined that it is not a recreational drug, and should be used only by those who need it, taken sparingly (once a day at most) and without alcohol, as this can reverse its effect. Impotent men hoping that the pill will perk up their lives have also been cautioned that it only works if they are mentally sexually aroused.

Importers Geo. Pavlides and Araouzos Ltd, also announced prices for the pills yesterday: four 50mg tablets will cost £26.91, while eight will cost £53.82. Four 100mg tablets will retail for £32.64, and eight for £65.29. The lower-dosage 25mg tablets, meanwhile will be £22.20 for four and £34.16 for eight.

Viagra, a pop-culture phenomenon across the globe, has already spun its fair share of tall (and not so tall) tales in Cyprus. Stories of black market Viagra have been rife for months, while suggestions that Greece’s preoccupation with the fall-out from the Ocalan affair might delay the Greek parliament’s approval for the sale of Viagra to Cyprus proved unfounded. Cyprus’ Viagra is coming through the Greek arm of Pfizer.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.