BRUSSELS — The sale of impotence pills in Belgium has increased markedly in recent years, according to figures from the Institute for Medical Statistics.

Sales of impotence pills amounted to EUR 16 million last year, with 322,000 doses of Viagra, Levitra or Cialis passing over pharmacy counters.

In the past five years, sales of impotence pills have increased from a turnover of EUR 6 million in 2000 to EUR 16 million in 2005.

The number of doses being sold has increased in the same period from 211,000 to 322,000, newspaper ‘De Morgen’ reported on Thursday.

Up until 2002, Viagra had a monopoly over the medically-assisted impotence industry in Belgium.

In 2003, rivals Cialis and Levitra were launched on the market. The arrival of competitors represented primarily a growth in the market.

Viagra reported a decline in turnover from EUR 8.1 million in 2002 to EUR 7.3 million in 2005, but the use of the impotence pill has increased, especially since the arrival of Cialis and Levitra.

Those two firms reported a turnover in 2005 of EUR 5.8 million and EUR 2.8 million respectively.

[Copyright Expatica News 2006]

Subject: Belgian news