NHS rationing of Viagra and other drug treatments for impotence is endangering men's health since the condition is often an early sign of dangerous illness, a coalition of doctors and patients said yesterday.
The "unfair and irrational" restrictions put on Viagra's use nearly two years ago meant that only about a fifth of those who would benefit were getting free treatment.
Government fears that wider NHS prescription would help to send its drug bill soaring were ill-founded, said the campaigners, responding to a government review of its rules.
Confusion about such drugs' availability was instead helping to deter men - always reluctant visitors at GPs' surgeries - even to report health problems to doctors.
John Chisholm, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said: "Erectile dysfunction is a highly distressing condition that has very considerable effects not just on men's lives, but on their relationships, their partners and families.
"It not only causes problems in sexual performance but leads to anxiety, depression, even on occasions suicide. We should not lightly dismiss the significance of the condition by regarding it as trivial, or a bit of a joke."
GPs are allowed to prescribe impotence drugs for a dozen conditions, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, polio and prostate cancer, and to refer patients with all conditions to specialist consultants where they are suffering "severe distress". But campaigners said this was adding to outpatient waiting lists.
The government's recommended treatment for Viagra is one tablet a week, and most GPs start patients on a pack of four 25mg tablets, costing £16.59. Up to 10% of men may suffer impotence problems at some stage in their lives, said campaigners.
There was no evidence that overwhelming demand would "bankrupt" the NHS, and more treatments would save money on treating social consequences of impotence, including alcohol abuse and absenteeism.
Ian Banks, chairman of the Men's Health Forum, said that at present men on average saw GPs only half as often as women. "Men will be even less likely to attend in these conditions. Erectile dysfunction is often one of the first signs of a more serious underlying condition, and I don't think it is up to the government to decide the impact on the man or his partner."
Campaigners also warned that men desperate for treatment might get supplies privately or through the internet.
