Can Men be Trusted to Do the Right Thing?

Trust is one of these funny things. When you got it, you got it. When you ain’t got it, you’re in a lot of trouble. So take a drug like aspirin. This is a neat medication with all kinds of different uses. It’s a painkiller (well, for minor aches), it reduces inflammation and helps to bring down a fever. Most importantly, for people at risk of a stroke or heart attack, it thins the blood and reduces clotting. This is all major mojo yet everyone in the world is trusted with it. You can walk into more or less any pharmacy or grocery store, and pick some off the shelf. No-one asks you for a prescription. It’s sold “over-the-counter” (OTC for short) by anyone who happens to be in the store. What did we all do to justify this trust? Well, that’s hard to say. People who overdose on aspirin can die. Children are particularly at risk. Even though not at lethal levels, it can also cause serious stomach problems. So it’s not like this is a completely safe drug to leave lying around the house. Yet even though millions of men have been taking the little blue pill since it came on the market some ten years ago, and its safety record is second to none (there have been more than 120 clinical trials), it’s only available on prescription. For those men without the initiative to buy this great cure for erectile dysfunction online, that means a visit with their local healthcare provider to collect a prescription and then one of those slightly embarrassing trips down to your neighborhood pharmacy where all the counter staff nudge each other and smile as you come in for your repeat dose. So, it’s been interesting to watch Pfizer’s application in Europe to sell this (possibly safer than aspirin) drug over the counter. The plan was to make the 50mg dose of viagra available without prescription in pharmacies. But the the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was concerned that if men could walk in off the streets and buy this drug, they might be putting themselves at risk. Yes, unless all men are forced to go see a doctor, there might be a fatal delay in the diagnosis of the underlying causes of their erectile dysfunction. It could be diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. A medical exam before the prescription makes sure they stay well enough to enjoy the sex. It’s reassuring to know the EMA has everyone’s interests at heart. The second reason which has to do with younger men getting their hands on this drug for recreational purposes, is equally unconvincing. So until common sense prevails on all sides, men will just have to buy their viagra online (where it’s cheaper than on Main Street anyway). If they have other symptoms, most men can be trusted to go have a check-up (sooner or later).

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