Two years of Viagra
Here are some highlights of the "wonder drug" since it hit the market 24 months ago.<br><br><b>April 1998: </b> Viagra, the first pill to treat impotence, hits pharmacy shelves. The manufacturer, PfizerMonday, April 24th 2000, 12:00 am
By:
News On 6
Here are some highlights of the "wonder drug" since it hit the market 24 months ago.
April 1998: Viagra, the first pill to treat impotence, hits pharmacy shelves. The manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., says the medication acts on the normal physiological system in the penis and elicits an erection when a man is sexually stimulated; it has no effect if he is not. The pills will sell for $7 to $10 each.
April 21, 1998: Atlanta urologist John Stripling has written 500 Viagra prescriptions in two weeks. He says he's using a rubber stamp to prescribe the pill. "I've never seen such interest in a prescription drug in all of my years of medicine," he says.
May 08, 1998: Former Sen. Bob Dole says he was among the men who took part in Viagra trials and calls it "a great drug." "I wish I'd have bought stock earlier," the 1996 Republican presidential nominee jokes on CNN's "Larry King Live."
May 23, 1998: Pfizer warns paramedics and emergency room physicians not to treat patients on Viagra with nitroglycerin. The FDA discloses it is investigating six deaths among Viagra users to see whether the drug mix played any role.
May 23, 1998: Since the FDA approved Viagra, more than 900,000 users have gotten prescriptions, according to market research firm IMS America Ltd. - making Viagra the biggest new drug launch in recent years.
May 30, 1998: A New York woman sues her longtime partner, a 70-year-old widower, for $2 million in palimony, with her lawyer saying Viagra should come with a warning. "[The partner] is dating lots of women," attorney Dominic Barbara says. "He now thinks he is a young man in the body of a 70-year man. The man even had a quadruple bypass last year, for God's sake."
June 10, 1998: Deaths among men who took Viagra have climbed to 16, including seven men who reportedly died during or after sex, a reminder that sexual exertion in older men can be risky with or without a pill. The FDA says there is no evidence that Viagra itself is dangerous.
June 14, 1998: A reader tells advice columnist Ann Landers: "If I could get my hands on the guy who invented Viagra, the newly concocted pill that restores 'life' to old geezers who are over the hill, I would wring his neck. ... I do love my husband, Ann, but I believe I have earned a rest. Besides, these pills cost $10 apiece. Last week, he took four."
June 23, 1998: People who take Viagra along with party stimulants known as "poppers" may be mixing a deadly cocktail, doctors warn. Poppers are inhaled stimulants that heighten sensation by dilating blood vessels.
June 28, 1998: The New York Times News Service reports that the continuing news about Viagra and White House intern Monica Lewinsky appears to have accelerated a change in the way many Americans talk about their sex lives. "In recent months," the news service reports, "the subjects of sex and the language describing sex acts and sex organs have been nudged a few inches closer to the conversationally commonplace."
July 22, 1998: Sales of Viagra finally begin to taper off. In the week ended July 10, pharmacists filled 184,312 Viagra prescriptions, compared with a peak of 303,424 in the week ended May 8, according to industry researcher IMS Health.
Oct. 18, 1998: Julio Iglesias, 55, admits trying Viagra. "I've taken it twice," he tells the French magazine L'Express. "The first time it gave me a headache. The second time it didn't activate very much. I make love better than I did in the past. But only in my head." The crooner has three grown kids and awaits the birth of his second child with a 33-year-old Dutch model.
Nov. 6, 1998: Concerns are raised that the "cybermedicine" phenomenon - the use of the Internet to order prescription drugs - is making drugs easier to obtain without ever seeing a doctor or visiting a pharmacy. It's being driven, some say, by Viagra, the hottest medication to hit the market in years.
Nov. 25, 1998: The FDA issues new warnings about Viagra, saying doctors should be cautious about prescribing it to whole groups of men, including those who recently have had heart attacks or have very high blood pressure.
Dec. 12, 1998: Pfizer hires former Sen. Bob Dole to participate in ads and speaking engagements focusing on impotence and men's health in general. The Dole ads mark Pfizer's first use of television advertising associated with Viagra.
March 6, 1999: The first preliminary study on Viagra's effects on women with sexual dysfunction finds the drug provided little, if any, relief. The study of 33 postmenopausal women was published in the March issue of the journal Urology.
March 8, 1999: Philip Lentini, 46, of Spring Hill, Fla., is among the men who have sued Humana Inc. for not covering the cost of Viagra. He says denying such coverage may be just the start: "If they decide not to cover Viagra today, what will they decide not to cover tomorrow?" Mr. Lentini says he only buys Viagra when he can afford it. "It's not a love potion, but it works beautifully."
May 28, 1999: News reports say brothels are thriving in Nevada. The licensed prostitutes, however, laugh off false rumors that Viagra had spawned endless lines at their doors.
June 13, 1999: The Chicago Tribune reports that more people are choosing drugs based on celebrity endorsements, from former "Good Morning America" co-host Joan Lunden's endorsements for Claritin allergy medication to past presidential candidate Bob Dole's testimonials for Viagra.
Aug. 26, 1999: Reports surface that Viagra is a big seller on the black market, passed around on the dance floors of clubs as a quick hit taken by young men who want to party all night. Health officials in Florida say they have heard repeated stories of the bright blue, diamond-shaped pill being used by clubgoers or at sex parties.
Nov. 15, 1999: Impotence may be an early warning of heart disease. Researchers from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation tested 50 men who had sought prescriptions for Viagra. None of the men had any symptoms of heart disease. However, after a detailed evaluation, doctors found that 40 percent of the men had "significant blockages" in their arteries that could eventually lead to chest pain and heart attacks.
Nov. 24, 1999: Since the uproar about health insurers' coverage of Viagra - despite 39 years of refusal to pay for birth control - bills have been introduced in 33 states to require "contraceptive equity" for women, reports Working Woman magazine.
Feb. 14, 2000: As Viagra revitalizes the sex lives of millions of men, it heightens concern among health professionals about the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among older Americans. Educational campaigns are launched.
March 13, 2000: The syndicated column "The People's Pharmacy" says Viagra might curtail the sometimes illegal demand for exotic impotence remedies such as rhinoceros horn, seal penis or bear gallbladder.
April 1, 2000: Eel River Racing's No. 27 Viagra Pontiac appears a the Texas Motor Speedway for the DirectTV 500. The car spins out of the race on lap 238 and fails to finish.
April 11, 2000: As Viagra enters its third year on the market, a new impotence drug called Uprima gets initial federal approval for distribution. Uprima has helped some men regain erections strong enough for sexual intercourse, says an FDA advisory panel.
Compiled by Hector Cantu. Sources: The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Creators Syndicate, New York Times News Service, Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Chicago Tribune.
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