The Rise And Rise Of Viagra
It Was The Cure For Impotence Men Had Been Waiting For The Facts And Figures About The Little Blue Wonder Pill 10 Years On
IT IS 10 years since Viagra was launched and, aside from spawning a new generation of nudge nudge wink wink jokes, the famous little blue pill has revolutionised the sex lives of millions of people.
And tonight a documentary on Five, Viagra: Ten Years on the Rise, takes a light-hearted look at the impact of the wonder drug on the sexual landscape for those of a certain age.
So in celebration of the little blue pill, which has restored many fragile male egos and put a smile on the lips of thousands of women, here we look at the facts and figures behind the now-legendary cure for impotence.
Viagra is the fastest-selling drug in history. Commercially, it has been a huge success, netting its maker Pfizer ?1.5billion annually.
It is estimated about 30million men in 120 countries take it, with nine tablets being prescribed every second. That’s nearly 300million a year.
Many men buy it from the internet where it is sold for as little as 50p, compared with the ?5 it costs from the chemist.
However, health professionals warn that by using the internet, Viagra users are playing Russian roulette with their health thanks to rogue traders who sell poor-quality and even highly dangerous versions of the drug.
The criteria for its prescription by the NHS is stringent, only those who suffer from diabetes, MS, Parkinson’s, polio, prostate cancer, kidney failure, severe pelvic injury, neurological disease, spinal cord injury or spin a bifida are entitled to receive it on prescription. Yet it is estimated that as many as 30 per cent of men who complain to their GPs of impotence have psychological causes, which results in two million British men turning to the internet every year to the buy the drug.
The little blue pill has also been credited with saving the life of a premature baby, turning one man’s vision blue and even with reviving a flagging Christmas tree.
But side-effects are an ever-present worry for those who take the drug. They can include headaches, flushes and upset stomachs.
The possibility of heart attacks is one reason why Viagra is available as prescription-only, rather than an over-the-counter drug such as aspirin.
Some men are also believed to take the pill recreationally, mixing it with cocaine and ecstasy, although doctors warn that this can be a lethal cocktail.
Pomegranate juice, porridge oats and Ginkgo Biloba have all been cited as natural Viagra alternatives.
On a more serious note, Viagra has also been credited with making men more open about impotency issues and has even increased their contact with GPs, thus making it easier for doctors to monitor other medical problems such as cholesterol.
Google lists more than 17million web pages that use the word Viagra – there are only around 3.3million pages containing the word aspirin.
Billions of spam email messages advertise Viagra every day. So many, in fact, Pfizer have a page addressing the problem called “Avoid Fake Viagra” listed on their website.
The drug stays in the blood stream for about four hours.
It will only help men get an erection if already sexually stimulated. It is not an aphrodisiac and doesn’t increase a man’s sex drive.
Viagra isn’t licensed for use by women and its safety for female use has not been established.
There is, in fact, no known equivalent for women despite a reported 43 per cent of females suffering from sexual dysfunction, compared with only 31 per cent of men reporting similar problems.
Viagra was also tested on about 3000 women as a potential treatment for sexual arousal disorders. But the trials were “inconclusive” and Pfizer announced in 2004 they had dropped them.
It is vital men with heart conditions contact their GP before taking Viagra and the drug is also not recommended for those who have suffered a recent stroke or heart attack, have low blood pressure, certain rare inherited eye diseases, or those with severe heart or liver problems.
It was reported last year that an experimental allotment owner, who made a drink from a winter-flowering heather, claimed the drink had the same effects as Viagra.
Garden centres were besieged with enquiries after the keen gardener reported he had to hide in his shed for an hour before he could “walk down the road decently”.
Viagra has been cited as the cause for a relationship to breakdown in numerous divorce cases.
The drug has been evaluated in more than 120 clinical trials involving more than 16,000 men.
Since its development, Viagra has also become a byword for efficacy and impact.
Nicole Kidman’s nude scene in the play The Blue Room was famously described as “pure theatrical Viagra” and in the US, the Survivor TV series was labelled “CBC’s Viagra”, a magic pill that made the network virile.
Recent reports have suggested men aged between 18 and 30 are now taking Viagra to keep up with a generation of Sex And The City women.
‘The fastest-selling drug ever, it has restored many fragile male egos’.
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- Pfizer’s Viagra celebrates its 10th birthday
- Viagra May Benefit Some Women
- Nervous young men ‘are being forced’ to take Viagra
- The Popularity Of Viagra Brings About A Cultural Change In Men
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