Consumers Are Spending Less on Impotence Drugs

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Consumers Are Spending Less on Impotence Drugs
Decline of the Impotence Drug Empire?
Erection drug sales go limp, finally
There's great news in the world of impotence drugs: We're buying LESS of them than expected.
According to a recent USA Today article, sales of the highest-profile impotence drug, Pfizer's Viagra, have not measured up to industry projections of 2 years ago - missing the mark by over 30% worldwide. In 2004, sales of the drug were down 11% from the previous year.
Viagra's U.S. competitors Levitra (from GlaxoSmithKline) and Cialis (an Eli Lilly product) enjoyed lackluster sales performance last year, too. In fact, Cialis actually LOST money - spending $165 million advertising the drug, while only recouping $164 million in actual sales. To put this number in perspective, the world's best selling drug, Lipitor, made profits of $11 billion on only $55 million in advertising monies spent. That's about a 90% return on marketing investment. It's too early to say if this data indicates these new impotence drugs are a flop - but one can hope, right?
Why is it such good news that these drugs might be failing? Because like all drugs, these virility meds are RISKY, that's why - especially if you've got ticker issues. In my opinion, anything that can boost circulation enough to overcome impotence is putting undue stress on your heart. Though their makers are quick to claim there's no PROOF, field reports on these types of drugs have linked them to things like stroke, arrhythmia, chest pains, and an increased risk of heart attack.
And these are just from the drugs themselves - who knows how many incidents of heart attack, stroke, and other coronary events (not to mention thrown-out backs and the like) folks have suffered from the exertion of trying to keep up with their new, store-bought libidos? The TV ads for one of these products cautions users that erections lasting longer than four hours warrant immediate medical attention...
FOUR HOURS? That's longer than it takes a good runner to finish a marathon! And if you've been a reader of mine for any length of time at all, you know what happens to a lot of them after strenuous exercise of that duration - they keel over dead.
It remains to be seen whether sales of this class of drugs will increase now that Medicare's covering them (they started January 1, 2005) for men over 65. I'm hoping it won't make much of an impact: According to the article's data, only 29% of Viagra prescriptions go to men older than 60.
But lest you think that just because I'm not a fan of impotence drugs, I'm not a fan of sex...
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The common sense of sex
Believe it or not, as sex-crazy as our society is, the impact of sex on health has been studied relatively sparsely. Now, common sense tells us that healthy sexual relations should be a boon to health and self-esteem. But nowadays, without RESEARCH to back it up, common sense is meaningless to medicine. So without further ado, I'd like to summarize a few recent (and not-so-recent) findings of sex-related health research:
A British study of 900 middle-aged men published in 2002 found that those who had sex twice or more weekly enjoyed a significantly lower risk of heart attack than those who had sex less often.
A 2002 study published in the journal Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation found that women who were regularly sexually active - including during menstruation - were 1.5 times less likely to develop endometriosis.
An April 2004 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association outlines a pair of studies that concluded - in sharp contrast to previous research - that frequent ejaculation can slash the risk of prostate cancer by as much as a third.
Research shows that in both sexes, orgasm releases oxytocin, a hormone that appears to regulate blood pressure and body temperature, relieve pain, and even promote the healing of wounds.
Sex also strengthens emotional bonds between partners - this "closeness factor" alone cuts the risk of heart attack by 50% according to some recent studies.
And everyone knows that good sex relieves stress, promotes good sleep, and boosts self-esteem, but once again, I'm treading into the common-sense realm of the "unproven." Bottom line: If you're healthy enough for sex, have it whenever the spirit moves you - it's good for you in a million different ways. If you aren't, try dietary, herbal, and stress-management techniques before you resort to the "little blue pill."
Those "potency" pills are gross and temporarily effective placebos - with the effects brought on by massive advertising. The effect is simply wearing off as it always does. Erector set urology will soon go the way of the pet rock and I say good riddance.
Loving health - and healthy loving,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD

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