Middle-aged men were on TV talking about an old ailment with a new name – erectile dysfunction ED, for short. Even Bob Dole – war hero, former presidential nominee and not the type of guy you'd peg as a sexual trailblazer – revealed a bit more than expected about his private life. When the Viagra-sponsored Ford started proudly racing around the NASCAR circuit, it was clear something had fundamentally shifted.
Real Viagra quickly became a punch line on late-night shows and one of the most recognizable brands next to Nike and Coca-Cola. At the same time, the drug transformed erectile dysfunction from a shameful malady that robbed a man's masculinity to just another health issue, albeit still a personal one.
Viagra was a hit from the minute it came on the market. Since the drug's approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10 years ago – March 27, 1998 – 35 million men worldwide have taken Viagra, according to Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer. Worldwide sales of the blue pills reached nearly $1.8 billion in 2007, though growth has slowed because of competition from newer drugs such as Cialis and Levitra.
One in seven men aged 57 to 74 said they have used a drug to help with a sexual issue, according to a major study of sex among older Americans published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year.
When you have a sexual problem, you will not bring it up with your doctor except if you have some realistic expectation that at the end of this very embarrassing conversation, you will receive some help from sexual medicine .
The drug's success not only revolutionized treatment for male sexual dysfunction, but also invigorated research into women's sexuality – namely, the search for a medicine that would jump-start a flagging libido.
Not since the introduction of the contraceptive pill more than 40 years ago had a drug had such an impact on sex in America, say doctors, psychologists and sex researchers.
Before Viagra, there was this fearful thing called impotence that had all these psychological implications about manhood. Then along comes Viagra, and impotence becomes a technical and medical issue. Original Viagra took all this intense mystique away.”
