If its historic US launch in April is anything to go by, that blue, diamond-shaped pill, Viagra, will hit the Irish market in a blaze of hype and publicity. However, what has been very low key is the fact that, although unlicensed, the anti-impotence drug is already being prescribed in this country - and has been for the past four months.
"Doctors can prescribe anything they want whether licensed or not," explains a spokesman for the Dublin Medical Centre on the South Circular Road, Dublin, which has been selling Viagra to 150 of its patients since May. "It has passed all the relevant tests in the US and we import it from there for our patients."
Under current legislation doctors can prescribe an unlicensed drug on "a named-patient basis" if it is considered the most effective option available to treat a condition. There are pitfalls though, according to consultant urologist with St James' Hospital and the Meath, Ted McDermott, who conducted trials on the drug over three years.
"I have heard of two people prescribing Viagra here. If something goes wrong with an unlicensed drug, the doctor and not the pharmaceutical company is ultimately liable," he says.
Market authorisation for the drug in Ireland is expected within a matter of weeks, if not days. The manufacturer Pfizer took the speedy Euro-route which means when a licence is granted in Brussels, the authorisation is valid in all 15 EU member states.
John Dwyer (46) (not his real name) from Dublin says he had no idea before attending the Dublin Medical Centre that the drug was available in this country.
"My own GP was surprised when he heard I was taking Viagra. When he referred me to the medical centre he didn't know they had supplies of it there. He said he wondered where they got their hands on it."
Viagra doesn't come cheap. At £200 for a bottle of 10 tablets, John discovered a way to make them last.
"The stuff is like gold dust but because they are 100mg tablets you chew them in half and treat them as two tablets which works out at £10 per tablet. When I'm running out of them I sometimes chew the tablet into three pieces, which seems to work just as well."
An estimated 10 per cent of the Irish male population suffers from varying degrees of erectile failure, and half of them are over 40 years of age. According to the Medical Centre spokesperson, impotence is "one of the best kept secrets among men".
"Seeking treatment is admitting to themselves at the deepest level that they have a problem. A lot wait for several years before they can bring themselves to get help and many don't want to approach their GPs whom they often know quite well. Rural people, especially, prefer the anonymity of Dublin," he says.
John Dwyer says that facing his own GP whom he has known for 30 years was "a very hard thing" as he had not shared his secret with anyone, including his wife.
"My job is very demanding and I'm on the road all of the time, in fact I've been away for weeks at a time so I got away with murder. It took me a long time to acknowledge to myself that I had a problem."
The downside to the "wonder" drug is the mounting concern over the reported deaths of 69 Americans over the first four months of use, more than 40 of which were linked to heart troubles. Not to mention the much documented side effects which include headaches, the blurring of vision, dyspepsia and skin flushing.
"To date it has not been proven that those heart attacks were directly because of Viagra. A man in his 60s involved in heavy activity like intercourse puts strain on his heart, and that is true for someone of that age not on Viagra," says Mr McDermott.
"The most common side effect is headaches which are generally minor and fairly remote and for most people not significant enough to warrant discontinuation," he adds.
"Viagra has been a godsend," says John Dwyer. "It has changed my life completely. The only problem I had was that my eyes reddened for a while but that went away. The worst side effect has been the lightening of my hip pocket but it's a small price to pay. I feel so confident and I used to feel so inadequate.
"My heart was checked by the doctor before he gave me the tablets. If I was told I had a bad heart I would think long and hard and probably stop taking them."
The Department of Health has not yet decided whether Viagra will be included on the General Medical Services Scheme or whether users will be eligible for reimbursement under the drugs refunds scheme.
"The Department would, however, be concerned to ensure that the product is made available only to those with a genuine medical need," adds a spokesman. "The question that has to be asked is, `Is sex necessary?'," comments the Dublin Medical Centre spokesman. "It is necessary for reproduction but is it necessary for anything else? I don't think anyone has documented it scientifically."
"If a man feels he can't perform, it is a disaster," says John Dwyer. "I have no intention of ever telling my wife unless I get caught taking them. It is probably male ego but I don't know how she would react. Maybe she would think `it's not him that wants sex but the tablet or the injection'."