An application to make Viagra, the anti-impotence drug, widely available without a prescription has been withdrawn by the manufacturers after pressure from regulators.

Pfizer took the decision after concerns were raised by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) about supply and potential misuse of the pill as a recreational drug rather than a treatment for a medical condition.

Men with erectile dysfunction often have underlying health problems, such as diabetes or heart disease, which can be diagnosed by their GP but might be missed by a pharmacist, an official committee suggested.

About 35 million men have taken Viagra globally since it came on the market a decade ago.

Pfizer had wanted to make 50mg tablets available over the counter, in a move that it said would help those men too embarrassed to seek help from their doctor.

It said: “A lot of men don’t go to the doctor or talk about their condition. By offering it via a pharmacy, it would offer them another option."

It could also help to stop men buying over the internet and potentially taking fake, and even dangerous, pills, Pfizer said.

The EMEA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use said that it had serious concerns about making Viagra available over the counter.

“If the drug is available without prescription, there is no medical supervision which could delay diagnosis of underlying disease," it said.

The committee "was particularly worried about the diagnosis of overt and silent cardiovascular disease, of which ED can be an early marker”.

It said that there had also been concerns over complicated product information, which could lead men to “unintentional misuse”.

“In addition, a switch to being an over-the-counter medicine could lead to an increase in people who are not intended users taking Viagra recreationally.”

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