The Ministry of Health has announced measures to regulate the sale of Sildenafil, commonly referred to as the Blue Pill or Viagra, following a Citizen TV documentary.
In a statement on Monday, December 22, Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni noted that the medicine is strictly prescription-only and should not be sold over the counter.
According to her, the Sildenafil tablets are mainly used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in men and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and should not be taken without a doctor's prescription.
The PS warned that when taken without proper medical guidance, especially alongside nitrates or certain heart and blood pressure medicines, the drug can cause life-threatening complications.
"The drug increases the risk of life-threatening events such as heart attack and stroke; patients should consult a doctor or pharmacist before use," Muthoni explained.
As part of the government's efforts to regulate the sale of the drug, the PS announced the implementation of a monitoring system that requires pharmacies to document and report all sales of prescription medicines to customers.
She explained that the measure is intended to improve traceability and reduce leakages of controlled medicines such as Sildenafil into informal or illegal markets.
The PS also announced frequent audits and inspections of pharmacies by reviewing prescription records for controlled dispensing.
Muthoni emphasised that these inspections would involve reviewing prescription records to ensure medicines like sildenafil are dispensed only with valid prescriptions and in accordance with the law.
She also revealed the government's intention to run education campaigns to inform the public about the risks and legal consequences of using prescription-only medicines without medical approval.
The directives follow a documentary by Citizen TV titled 'Blues and Death', which ran on Sunday night. The documentary showed cases of abuse of sexual performance-enhancing drugs by a section of Kenyans.
The media outlet yesterday revealed how a broken regulatory system allowed rogue pharmacies to sell the drug without any prescription or proper guidance to clients.
