Penis pump and Viagra prescriptions soar as NHS spends over £20MILLION helping blokes with erectile dysfunction
The NHS said erection problems are 'very common' in men over 40
BIG RISE Penis pump and Viagra prescriptions soar as NHS spends over £20MILLION helping blokes with erectile dysfunction
DOCTORS prescribed a record number of bedroom aids for blokes such as penis pumps and Viagra last year, figures show.
The NHS in England alone spent more than £20million helping men dealing with erectile dysfunction.
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Doctors prescribed a record number of bedroom aids for blokes such as penis pumps and Viagra last year
Credit: Alamy
A total of 24,231 erection devices, including vacuum pumps — as seen in 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery — and constriction rings were prescribed in 2024/25, the NHS Business Services Authority revealed.
That was up by 10,000 on a decade ago.
And the £2.8million cost has doubled since 2015.
Meanwhile, prescriptions for drugs such as Viagra and Cialis reached 4.7million — up 100,000 on the year before — with a cost of £17.6million.
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The NHS said erection problems are 'very common' in men over 40 and become more likely with age and illness.
A spokesman added: 'Effective erectile dysfunction treatment is important for both sexual and mental well-being.'
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said the pumps were a useful option for people who cannot be prescribed Viagra.
She said: 'Viagra and Cialis interact with medicines used to treat angina and certain blood pressure medicines so alternatives are available, including pumps, where taking them is unsuitable.'
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The findings come days after actress Dame Emma Thompson suggested sex should be prescribed on the NHS.
She spoke out at a a screening of her 2022 film Good Luck To You, Leo Grande — in which she plays a widow who hires a sex worker.
Bionic willies on the rise as more than 500 men with severe erectile dysfunction have £8,000 NHS operation
Dame Emma, 66, said: 'You need sex because it's part of our health plan, if you like.
'It should really be on the NHS.
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