Viagra (Sildenafil) use in Finland: Data analysis

Finland is a very curious case study when it comes to studying the statistics of impotence treatment. Not only does this country offer compensation from insurance providers for Viagra purchases, but it is also a kind of a record holder in the Scandinavia – according to the statistics, Finns use as much as three times more ED pills as compared to their Nordic neighbours.¹ By taking a more detailed look at the data detailing Viagra use in Finland, we can try to map out some general trends and tendencies and get a clearer picture of the way Finnish men approach and view ED treatment in general. At the same time, we can get a valuable insight into how these trends changed and evolved over the years.

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Viagra use in Finland according to Fimea

The Finish Medicines Agency, also called Fimea, is the central administrative agency operating under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and functioning as a central authority for regulating pharmaceutical products within the country. With medical regulation as one of its main tasks, Fimea is the place to go if you’re interested in official and precise data regarding prescription medication. As Viagra definitely falls into this category, we can look for raw data for our analysis here.

As a major consumer of sildenafil-based products, Finland is, as mentioned, a specific case. Through Fimea, we can find out some interesting facts that are already available for us, thanks to the statistical analysts employed at the agency. Among other things, they concluded the following:

• Consumption of sildenafil-based medicines is on a constant rise
• Consumption of impotence pills in Finland is three times higher than in rest of Scandinavia
• In the period from 2010 to 2017 the use of sildenafil has increased five times
• Finns love their sildenafil – it is the most popular compound used for ED treatment, with the second being tadalafil, at only one fifth of sildenafil sales
• Use of other PDE-5 inhibitors is very low and is not on the rise

Who uses Viagra in Finland the most?

According to Fimea, it seems that the age group of men that makes up a majority of Viagra consumers is, unsurprisingly and in line with other countries, those aged between 50 and 70. About one third of that group has been diagnosed with some sort of ED problems, while up to a whole quarter can be considered to be affected by severe impotence. When this fact is considered in the light of another statement – namely, the fact that Finland houses a majority of Viagra users in Scandinavia, we can conclude that it’s not that Finns are more affected by impotence issues than others – on the contrary, the data seems to imply that Finnish men are simply more sexually active after they turn 50 as compared to their neighbours.

Statistical analysis of Viagra use in Finland 2004-2014

Aside from these facts, there are also some numbers that we can work with in order to get a clearer and even more precise picture. For start, through Fimea we can gain access to the data about total sales of Viagra (and other sildenafil-based medicines) in the recent years. However, since the only information we can obtain this way is about total sales per year, we will need to do some simple math. We’ll simply divide the total sales by average price of Viagra pack (50 euros) in order to get the approximate number of Viagra packs sold in Finland annually. Here we will rely on the data provided by Fimea covering period from 2004 to 2014.

In this decade purchases of Viagra seen some fluctuation, although the sale rate was relatively even. In comparison, other Nordic countries experienced some major shifts, especially when it comes to the period around 2013 when generic versions of Viagra first appeared on the markets. In Finland, this is not the case, although we see the same trend of an increase in Viagra sales from 2013/2014 onward as is recorded elsewhere.

Viagra in Finland after 2014

As is mentioned, in the more recent years, Viagra and other sildenafil-based medicines are in constant demand and the sales continue to rise. What is unique about Finland on the other hand is that the appearance of the generic versions of Viagra made no long-lasting or especially noticeable impact on branded Viagra sales. This means that the Finns are not as concerned with their budget when it comes to treatment, as opposed to their neighbours. Of course, while cheaper Viagra definitely made a profound impact on the demand for sildenafil-based medicines, it did nothing to reduce the number of people who were already using it.

With rate of switching from Viagra to Sildenafil being rather low, just like the rate of switching from generic Viagra to other PDE-5 inhibitors being, for all intents and purposes, non-existent, we can safely conclude that Finnish men appreciate reliability and familiarity the most when it comes to impotence treatment. In other words, once a man starts using certain medicine, it is highly likely that he will continue using that same medicine and that exact brand in the future too.

Sildenafil-based medicines in Finland 2014-2017

Another set of data we can find through Fimea is the collection of data detailing the DDD (Defined Daily Dose) for the period from 2014 to 2017. However, one should keep in mind that DDD is not the same as prescribed daily dose – the two usually differ significantly, but this measure is used by the World Health Organization to give a rough estimate of the consumption rather than the actual value. It is a fixed unit of measurement, independent from variables such as price, package size or strength.²

With the increased prevalence of Viagra use in Finland, it seems that DDD per 1000 inhabitants is also on the rise with 5.14 in 2014, 5.86 in 2015, 6.54 in 2016 and 6.97 by the end of 2017.

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