Viagra Connect and the other pharmacy ED medicines: what you can buy without a prescription

This page is medicine information rather than an advert. It explains a category of UK medicine supply that confuses a lot of people: the small number of erectile dysfunction treatments a pharmacist can supply without a prescription, and the much larger number that still need one.

The three P medicines

Medicines in the UK fall into three classes. GSL medicines can be sold anywhere, including supermarkets. P (pharmacy) medicines can be supplied from a registered pharmacy under a pharmacist’s supervision, after a conversation. POM (prescription only medicines) need a prescriber.

Three ED products currently sit in the middle category ^{[1, 2, 3]}:

• Viagra Connect — sildenafil 50 mg tablet. Reclassified from POM to P in November 2017, on sale from March 2018; the first ED medicine in the UK available without a prescription.
• Cialis Together — tadalafil 10 mg tablet. Reclassified in March 2023. Maximum pack size eight tablets, supplied from behind the counter.
• Viagra Connect Melts — sildenafil 50 mg orodispersible film, the newest of the three. The film is placed on the tongue, which suits men who dislike swallowing tablets or want to take a dose without water.

All three are for men aged 18 and over, all three are kept behind the counter rather than on open shelves, and all three require a pharmacist consultation before supply.

Everything else is prescription only. That includes sildenafil at 25 mg and 100 mg, tadalafil at every other strength and the daily-dosing regimen, vardenafil, and avanafil. So is any product sold as “herbal Viagra” that turns out to contain a prescription medicine — which regulators have repeatedly found.

Important practical point about the Melts

The tablet and the film contain the same medicine at the same dose. The product information is explicit that you may take one or the other in any 24 hours, not both ^[3]. The film also uses different excipients from the tablet, which matters if you have had a reaction to one of them before. The film is placed on the tongue with a dry finger straight after opening the pouch.

What the pharmacist is actually checking

The consultation is short, and it can feel like a formality. It isn’t. The pharmacist is screening for the things that make these medicines unsafe:

• Nitrates and nicorandil. Glyceryl trinitrate spray or tablets, isosorbide mono- or dinitrate, nicorandil, and recreational “poppers” (amyl nitrite). Combined with any PDE5 inhibitor these can cause a severe fall in blood pressure. This is the single most important question, and it is why a man who carries a GTN spray “just in case” must say so.
• Riociguat, used for pulmonary hypertension — also contraindicated.
• Recent heart attack or stroke, unstable angina, or severe heart failure.
• Very low blood pressure, or blood pressure that is high and untreated.
• Severe liver problems.
• Previous sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, particularly if attributed to NAION.
• Inherited eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa.
• Alpha blockers for blood pressure or prostate symptoms, which need dose care rather than avoidance.
• Other medicines including ritonavir and some antifungals and antibiotics.

If any of these apply, the answer is not “no treatment” — it is that you need a prescriber rather than a pharmacy supply, and possibly a different treatment entirely. Our guide to how ED treatments compare covers the alternatives.

When the pharmacy route suits, and when it doesn’t

It suits a man who wants to try a standard starting dose, has no relevant medical history, and would rather have a five-minute conversation at a counter than a full consultation.

It doesn’t suit a man who needs a different dose or a different medicine, who has any of the conditions above, or — importantly — who has not had the underlying cause looked at.

That last point is the one worth dwelling on. Erectile dysfunction is frequently the first visible sign of arterial disease, sometimes years before anything else appears. Buying a tablet treats the symptom and leaves the cause unexamined. A first episode is a reason to have blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose checked, as our guide to ED and heart disease explains. Plenty of men do both: a proper assessment for the underlying picture, and a convenient supply route thereafter.

What is not available without a prescription

A reclassification application for a liquid sildenafil preparation was submitted to the MHRA in 2026 and is under review. It is not available, and anything sold as such today is not a legitimate UK product.

There is no pharmacy-supply route for vardenafil or avanafil, none for tadalafil daily dosing, and none for any treatment for premature ejaculation — dapoxetine and Fortacin are both prescription only, as our guide to dapoxetine and Fortacin explains.

A note on buying online

A UK pharmacy operating online can supply P medicines the same way a high street pharmacy can, provided a pharmacist is genuinely involved. The check is whether the site asks the questions above and is willing to decline. Our guide to buying ED medicines safely covers how to verify a UK pharmacy properly.

This article is for general information and isn’t a substitute for advice from your own clinician. If you feel unwell, contact your GP or NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.