The following table provides the number of prescription items dispensed for drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, as listed in section 7.4.5 of the British National Formulary (BNF), written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community, in England.
Number of prescription items (thousand) BNF chemical name 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Alprostadil 77.1 74.6 75.8 76.3 75.6 Apomorphine Hydrochloride 21.6 16.6 7.1 0.0 0.0 Other Preparations1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 Papaverine Hydrochloride 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.0 Papaverine Hydrochloride/Phentolamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Papaverine Sulphate 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 — Sildenafil (Erectile Dysfunction)2 1,024.3 1,015.0 1,042.4 1,112.2 1,185.4 Tadalafil 266.3 370.4 438.1 503.0 569.5 Vardenafil 74.0 112.6 136.1 146.5 153.3 Yohimbine Hydrochloride 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 Grand total 1,464.8 1,590.4 1,700.4 1,838.7 1,984.1 ‘—’ Indicates no prescription items. ‘0.0’ indicates less than 50 items 1 Includes Invicorp-1 injection solution auto-injector, Invicorp-2 injection solution auto-injector and Invicorp-2 injection solution 1 ml amp. 2 Does not include Revatio as this should only be prescribed to treat pulmonary hypertension (BNF 2.5.1). Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA)
We do not know the intended purpose for which prescription items are prescribed. Some drugs within BNF section 7.4.5 can be used to treat other conditions. There are drugs in other BNF sections which may be prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction.