In Japan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is to investigate thepublisher of a weekly magazine to see if it violated legislation banning the advertising of unauthorized drugs by offering its readers a way to order Pfizer's erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil) from the USA, reports Kyodo News International.
Kodansha Ltd, publisher of the weekly Shukan Gendai, may have violated Article 68 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law after the magazine ran an article this month on how to buy the drug, including a postcard for ordering it. While wholesale imports of the drug into Japan are illegal, there are no regulations preventing individuals from bringing it into the country. As a consequence, companies offering the services of people who can buy Viagra from the USA have multiplied.
The magazine introduced one such proxy buyer, offering 10 pills for $190. An attached postcard warned readers about possible side effects, saying: "Viagra is a medical treatment, not a tonic."
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