VIAGRA: Let’s all take it every day (and that includes the women, too

As if the sales of Viagra (sildenafil), the drug for male impotence, weren’t high enough already, one expert is recommending all men should take one Viagra pill a day to ward off any possible problems.

The claim comes from urologist Prof Irwin Goldstein of Boston University who says he is a ‘strong believer’ in taking Viagra every day to prevent impotence. He has hundreds of patients who are already doing this, he told delegates at a medical education event.

Pfizer, Viagra’s manufacturer, must be delighted by Prof Goldstein’s recommendation especially as they sponsored the event at which he spoke.

Fortunately, it’s not just down to Prof Goldstein to keep the sponsors happy. The recent scandal about the non-existent condition of ‘female sexual dysfunction’ yet another attempt to open a new market for Viagra was dreamed up by a team of 19 researchers, 18 of whom had financial interests or other relationships with 22 drug companies. (Source: British Medical Journal, 2003; 326: 45).