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PRESCRIPTION FOR DEBATE
Will Viagra change the way Americans view sexual health? May 15, 1998 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
What liabilities do doctors face if Viagra causes long-term side effects? Can Viagra help a low libido? How successful would a blue "sugar pill" be? Can Viagra be habit forming? Are insurance companies guilty of a double standard? 
Frank Sommers, M.D. FRCPC, of Toronto, Canada asks: Is Viagra the "fast food" of sex? Can it be habit forming?
Ira Sharlip responds:
Viagra is not habit-forming, although the men who are successfully treated by it may become very "enamored" of its effects. Also, Viagra does not require steadily increasing doses.
Paul Wolpe responds:
Psychologically habit forming? Absolutely!! It is one of the great dangers of misuse of the drug. Men who experience frequent erectile difficulties due to psychological causes could easily use Viagra as a sure-fire solution and grow dependent on it. However, if it has no PHYSIOLOGICAL benefit to them, then sooner or later it will fail to have its desired effect and they will be worse off than when they started (unless that failure sends them in to therapy, where they should have been in the first place).
If, as Pfizer claims, it has little effect on non-organic dysfunction, then that word will eventually filter through society as well.
Eileen Palace responds:
In our highly technological society, we have learned to be impatient. We can fax, page, use the cell phone, and search the net. We have come to expect immediate action and reaction to our needs. With the advent of the birth control pill, people believed that they could also control biology. The unfeasibility of this idea was later recognized when couples began expensive and time-consuming treatments (both medical and psychological) for infertility-- biology could not be controlled after all. I have been quoted as saying that "a penis is not a fax." What I mean to say is that blood flow to the penis (and fast food) may be available on demand. But a sexual relationship (like a gourmet meal) takes time, patience, and a willingness to experience and learn. In response to the second question, hasn't fulfilling sex always been psychologically habit forming?
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