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Fake Viagra tablets are the counterfeit medicines most frequently intercepted by UK border forces, MHRA data reveals. 

Oxford Online Pharmacy obtained data from the MHRA under the Freedom of Information Act that revealed fake sildenafil products are by far the most commonly seized counterfeit medicine, with 7.5 million doses seized between 2023 and now. 

Prescription opioid Tramadol came second in the MHRA table, with 2.96 million doses seized during the same period.   

Tadalafil, another erectile dysfunction treatment, was the third most frequently seized product with 1.5 million doses intercepted.

The highest number of counterfeit seizures came in 2024, when 4.4 million Viagra doses and 2.5 million Tramadol doses intercepted. 

The MHRA said: “Most non-compliant drug seizures are made at the UK border as a result of the MHRA’s partnership working with Border Force. 

“Most of the medicines referenced in the table are imported from India.”

Pharmacist Kiran Jones of Oxford Online Pharmacy said that despite ED medicines being “widely used,” feelings of embarrassment prevent many sufferers from speaking to their GP.  

She commented: “That’s what pushes some people toward unregulated sites. The problem is that these counterfeit drugs can be completely ineffective, or worse, contaminated or dangerously dosed.

“We need stronger public awareness of the risks and more support to help people access treatment safely and discreetly.”

Related stories: MHRA seizes £17m of drugs and shuts down 367 websites