VIAGRA—THE WONDER DRUG
In 1996, news filtered through the medical community about very promising results from trials around the world that were being done on an oral medication for treating erectile dysfunction.10 Skepticism was high amongst doctors, as it seemed quite unlikely that an oral medication could cause vasodilatory effects in the penis alone, leaving the rest of the body unaffected. There is no doubt that this oral treatment for erectile dysfunction rates as one of the most important discoveries of the decade. Sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra, was initially tested on patients in the United Kingdom for the treatment of angina (poor blood supply to the heart). This condition requires a treatment that will dilate the arteries in the heart, thereby increasing blood flow. It became obvious that several of the men on this trial experienced improved erections—even in men who were known to have suffered erectile difficulties before the trial began. This result came to the attention of the board of directors of Pfizer, a large international pharmaceutical company. The company immediately started drug trials with men suffering from erectile dysfunction. As the drug was about to be released by the Federal Drug Administration in the United States, men all over the world waited with enormous anticipation.
In April 1998, Viagra was officially released in the United States. Within a very short time, it became the fastest selling pharmaceutical drug in history. The response was overwhelming. Doctors were designing Viagra rubber stamps to save them having to write the same script many times over. Four months after its release, 3.5 million scripts had been written for the drug. In the first six months after its release, 150 million tablets were sold.
Newspapers around the world ran lead stories covering the release of this new wonder drug. Radio and TV stations were innundated with programs about its success and books were written to coincide with its release. Senator Bob Dole stated that it worked for him
Since the release of Viagra, erectile dysfunction and even the term 'impotence' have taken on a whole new meaning in Western society. Today, many men see their general practitioners for treatment of a condition that they would have shied away from in the past. In many countries where it wasn't registered, easy access to Viagra was been made possible by both the black market and the Internet. The drug has also been known to be abused in so-called 'Viagra parties', or used in combination with other recreational drugs. In some instances this has resulted in over-dosage.
With such a massive level of usage, unexpected side effects that had not been found during the initial trials of the drug have now been identified. It didn't take long before generic versions of the drug were produced and distributed and purchase via the Internet followed immediately. This has made Viagra available to everyone around the world who owns a computer and a modem.
Then the side effects started to filter out—headaches, flushes, visual disturbances and even deaths. The previously predicted 70 per cent success rate (which actually included the placebo component) was quoted in medical journals as being actually less than 50 per cent. A special web site has been set up to accommodate this information.11 For Julio Iglesias, famous song writer and even better known singer of love songs', it did not work.
In Australia, eager customers tried to import this drug even before it was registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Some took 'business trips' to the United States with a doctor's script in hand, while others took holidays diverted through the closest US city. Several Australian clinics organised indirectly sourced supplies for their patients. Viagra was officially released in Australia on 14 September 1998.
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