LIBIDO problems among elderly golfers have landed a Suffolk pharmacist in hot water after he admitted giving his friends Viagra without a prescription.

LIBIDO problems among elderly golfers have landed a Suffolk pharmacist in hot water after he admitted giving his friends Viagra without a prescription.

Michael Allen gave the anti-impotency drug to his golfing mates with "libido problems," a disciplinary inquiry heard.

The 63-year-old Wickham Market-based pharmacist was today keeping a low profile after details of his unofficial deals were revealed to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

The inquiry heard that Mr Allen, who lives at Grange Farmhouse, Hasketon, near Woodbridge, had taken more than £1,000-worth of the anti-impotence drug from his chemist shops in Wickham Market and Framlingham.

As well as giving it to his golfing friends, he had also used 150 of the tablets himself.

Geoffrey Hudson, for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, told its statutory committee 204 tablets had been unaccounted for.

He added: "Mr Allen, by his own admission, supplied all those 204 tablets to a number of patients without prescriptions.

"His explanation to the (Society) inspector was that he had received requests from a good friend who had libido problems and he decided to help him."

Mr Allen also went on to help four or five other golfing friends, giving out two or three tablets on a three-to-four weekly basis over four months.

Insisting he did not profit from the supply, Mr Allen told the hearing he had personally used 150 of tablets, which are designed to help men suffering from impotency.

Explaining to the committee why he gave the prescription-only drug away, Mr Allen said: "Approximately four years ago I began having problems with my virility. Prior to that there had been no problems at all, my wife had enjoyed an intimate and loving relationship.

"The thought of going to a doctor just horrified me. Early in 2000 Viagra was launched. It seemed so natural that I wanted to give it a try.

"I can only say that it gave me such relief and made my relationship with my wife just excellent.

"Individually, my best three or four friends came to me and explained their situations and they asked me if I thought it would work for them and my answer was 'Well, why not?'.

"I know I did wrong, I know I ought to have said to them to go to a GP first, but when good friends are under pressure… I wanted to help them. It was a genuine desire to help."

Mr Allen said one of his friends was aged about 60 and had remarried a younger woman 20 years his junior, while another of his friends was aged 68 and had a 48-year-old wife. He added when had Viagra first come out, "in the golf club it was the subject that was talked about".

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society found Mr Allen guilty of misconduct.

However, the committee decided not to strike off Mr Allen and instead officially reprimanded him.