One-a-day Viagra?

Should men take Viagra daily to prevent impotency? As outlandish as that sounds, that’s a marketing angle that Pfizer may try to launch for their superstar pharmaceutical Viagra.

In an e-Alert I sent you last week (“Laugh Lines” 1/22/03), I told you about a small, brief, and inconclusive study that one professor of urology cited to support the idea that Viagra should be used daily, rather than on an “as needed” basis. His suggestion: cut the pill into quarters and take a quarter each night. A colleague of the professor’s said the idea was “bordering on the preposterous” – to which I completely agree.

In response to the e-Alert I received this informative e-mail from an HSI member named GK who has what you might call an “insider’s” take on the question of Viagra use:

“The quarter of a Viagra tablet is not as crazy as it sounds. First of all, savvy Viagra users buy the 100mg size, since the price is the same as the 50mg size. Thus, the pill cutter is a necessary accessory.

“Secondly, a lot of men are probably taking the recommended dose of 50mg because they are afraid less would fail them. However, in some cases, and I speak from experience, 25mg is all that is necessary. In addition, the smaller dose eliminates the flushing that is a very unpleasant side effect of the drug.

“I’m certainly not recommending that anyone take the drug every day, as the drug company suggests. But I am recommending that Viagra users experiment with smaller doses. A 100mg pill split into four, brings the price down to $2.50 per dose.”

Obviously, GK has been there, done that with Viagra. And you have to applaud his resourcefulness in minimizing the potential side effects as well as the exorbitant cost.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute