OBJECTIVES: to categorise online suppliers of Viagra based on their legal 
status, and to quantify the suppliers within each category.
METHODS: Google was used to search for websites offering to sell or supply 
either proprietary Viagra tablets or generic versions containing sildenafil 
citrate. Relevant websites were classified as falling into one of three 
categories, which were further subclassified. Simple descriptive statistics were 
calculated.
KEY FINDINGS:  the number of relevant sites found within the first 100 Google 
hits, following the removal of mirror and affiliate sites, was 44. Only 6.8% of 
sites identified were legitimate online pharmacies. Some 34.1% of sites offered 
to sell Viagra to patients in the UK without any form of medical consultation. 
Whether or not the online consultation offered by 59.1% of sites had to be 
completed in order to make a purchase could not be confirmed. The location of 
only three pharmacies could be ascertained; the remainder made various claims as 
to their location, which could not be verified.
CONCLUSIONS: we have been unable to verify that the questionnaires used for 
online consultations are scrutinised by any healthcare practitioners to 
determine the appropriateness of the treatment sought. This represents a serious 
safety concern for UK residents who procure drugs for erectile dysfunction on 
the internet.