January 23, 2007 Drug maker Pfizer charged in a Superior
Court with advertising Viagra as life style drug.1 When visiting their website
this can be confirmed with those advertisements which can be found: "Want
to improve your sexlife?", "Have the best experience" and "Viagra
sports" (accessed January 24, 2007). The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
claims the advertisements are "aimed at men who don’t necessarily suffer
from a clinical diagnosis of erectile dysfunction". As is evident
drug pharmaceuticals regularly and illegally market off-label use of
drugs, in this case not caring about the consequences of promoting risks of
sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. This can be considered medical quackery (definition).
One study says:
CONCLUSIONS: Among
MSM 2 from numerous US cities, Viagra use is common and is associated with several
high-risk behaviors.3
Factors associated with recent sildenafil (viagra) use among men who have
sex with men in the United States; Sanchez TH, Gallagher KM.; Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention National Center for HIV, STD and TB
Prevention Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention-Surveillance and Epidemiology,
Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
2006 May; 42(1):95-100
