In the US, even though sildenafil is available only by prescription from a doctor, it was advertised directly to consumers on TV (famously being endorsed by former United States Senator Bob Dole and football star Pelé).
Numerous sites on the Internet offer Viagra for sale after an "online consultation", often a simple web questionnaire.
The Viagra name has become so well known that many fake aphrodisiacs now call themselves "herbal viagra" or are presented as blue tablets imitating the shape and colour of Pfizer's product.
Viagra is also informally known as "vitamin V", "the blue pill", or "blue diamond", as well as various other nicknames.

In 2000, Viagra sales accounted for 92% of the global market for prescribed erectile dysfunction pills.
By 2007, Viagra's global share had plunged to about 50% due to several factors, including the entry of Cialis and Levitra, along with several counterfeits and clones, and reports of vision loss in people taking PDE5 inhibitors.
In 2008, the FDA forced Pfizer to remove Viva Cruiser, an advergame for Viagra, from its website, after the game failed to disclose risk information about the drug.

In February 2007, it was announced that Boots, the UK pharmacy chain, would try over-the-counter sales of Viagra in stores in Manchester, England.
Men between the ages of 30 and 65 would be eligible to buy four tablets after a consultation with a pharmacist.
In 2017, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enacted legislation that expanded this nationwide.,
allowing a particular branded formulation of Sildenafil, Viagra Connect (50 mg), to be sold over the counter and without a prescription throughout the UK from early 2018.
While the sale remains subject to a consultation with a pharmacist, the other restrictions from the trial have been removed, allowing customers over the age of 18 to purchase an unlimited number of pills  The decision was made, in part, to reduce online sales of counterfeit and potentially dangerous erectile dysfunction treatments.

On 6 May 2013, Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra, told The Associated Press they will begin selling the drug directly to patients on its website.

Pfizer's patents on Viagra expired outside the US in 2012; in the US they were set to expire, but Pfizer settled litigation with each of Mylan and Teva which agreed that both companies could introduce generics in the US on 11 December 2017.
In December 2017, Pfizer released its own generic version of Viagra.

As of 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved 15 drug manufacturers to market generic sildenafil in the United States.
Seven of these companies are based in India.
This is likely to lead to dramatic price reductions.
In the US, even though sildenafil is available only by prescription from a doctor, it was advertised directly to consumers on TV (famously being endorsed by former United States Senator Bob Dole and football star Pelé). Numerous sites on the Internet offer Viagra for sale after an "online consultation", often a simple web questionnaire. The Viagra name has become so well known that many fake aphrodisiacs now call themselves "herbal viagra" or are presented as blue tablets imitating the shape and colour of Pfizer's product. Viagra is also informally known as "vitamin V", "the blue pill", or "blue diamond", as well as various other nicknames.
In 2000, Viagra sales accounted for 92% of the global market for prescribed erectile dysfunction pills. By 2007, Viagra's global share had plunged to about 50% due to several factors, including the entry of Cialis and Levitra, along with several counterfeits and clones, and reports of vision loss in people taking PDE5 inhibitors. In 2008, the FDA forced Pfizer to remove Viva Cruiser, an advergame for Viagra, from its website, after the game failed to disclose risk information about the drug.
In February 2007, it was announced that Boots, the UK pharmacy chain, would try over-the-counter sales of Viagra in stores in Manchester, England. Men between the ages of 30 and 65 would be eligible to buy four tablets after a consultation with a pharmacist. In 2017, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enacted legislation that expanded this nationwide., allowing a particular branded formulation of Sildenafil, Viagra Connect (50 mg), to be sold over the counter and without a prescription throughout the UK from early 2018. While the sale remains subject to a consultation with a pharmacist, the other restrictions from the trial have been removed, allowing customers over the age of 18 to purchase an unlimited number of pills  The decision was made, in part, to reduce online sales of counterfeit and potentially dangerous erectile dysfunction treatments.
On 6 May 2013, Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra, told The Associated Press they will begin selling the drug directly to patients on its website.
Pfizer's patents on Viagra expired outside the US in 2012; in the US they were set to expire, but Pfizer settled litigation with each of Mylan and Teva which agreed that both companies could introduce generics in the US on 11 December 2017. In December 2017, Pfizer released its own generic version of Viagra.
As of 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved 15 drug manufacturers to market generic sildenafil in the United States. Seven of these companies are based in India. This is likely to lead to dramatic price reductions.
Sildenafil