Israel bans anti-impotence drug

The health authorities in Israel have decided to ban imports of the anti-impotence drug Viagra following reports that six men had died in the United States after taking it.

A Health Ministry official Shuki Shemersaid that the drug would be banned until more was known about it.

Viagra has not yet been approved by health officials for sale in Israel, but special authorization had been given for doctors to prescribe it on a case by case basis to certain patients.

Yesterday, Palestinian health officials advised doctors not to distribute Viagra, and last week, the authorities in Egypt said that three men had been taken to hospital after taking it.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service