The medicines regulator has urged men to avoid buying unauthorised erectile dysfunction (ED) pills online after it emerged that almost 20 million illegal tablets have been seized in the last five years. The “stigma and embarrassment” of erectile dysfunction is being “exploited by criminals”, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The agency’s criminal enforcement unit seized around 19.5 million doses of drugs which claim to help with erectile dysfunction between 2021 and 2025. This includes 4.4 million doses in 2025 alone. The MHRA warned that many of these pills contained no active ingredient or were the wrong dose.

They often claim to contain sildenafil or tadalafil.

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Some even contained hidden drugs and toxic ingredients. Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, said: “Stigma and embarrassment are being exploited by criminals selling fake medicines that can seriously harm your health.

“These seizures show the sheer scale of the illegal market for erectile dysfunction medicines in the UK – and the risks people are taking without realising. Any medicine not authorised for sale in the UK can be unsafe or ineffective and there is no way of knowing what is in them or the negative health effects they can have.

“These pills may look genuine, but many are potentially dangerous. These products may contain no active ingredient, the wrong dose, hidden drugs or toxic ingredients.”

Annual seizures of illegal erectile dysfunction pills have more than doubled since 2022. The MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit is also cracking down on online sellers.

Working with internet service providers, the regulator disrupted more than 1,500 websites and social media accounts illegally selling medical products in 2025, and removed 1,200 social media posts.