The News

So I read this article today (I've included it below), and it got me thinking. The article is about irresponsible advertising for Viagra as a recreational lifestyle enhancement drug, as opposed to treatment for erectile dysfunction. The argument is that Pfizer's advertising campaign has led to more high-risk behavior among men, resulting in increased spread of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

Now here's what really gets me: Viagra is a prescription drug. Shouldn't the doctors be held accountable for the drug's misuse as well? It seems like the people responsible for actually circulating the drug are entirely out of the picture. As a pre-med, I am not in favor of suing doctors, but this definitely makes me wonder about their role in contributing to the patient's best interest. It also makes me wonder how much of a bubble I really live in. Is this a patient-run market, where doctors just write the prescriptions on-demand and what will be will be? Or are they still in a position to promote health and healthy lifestyles? I would hope that doctors discourage misuse of these drugs when necessary, but I honestly can't say I know.

Oh yea, I also think it's funny that at the end of the article, they throw in that Cialis works for more time than Viagra. I wonder how much Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos paid them to do that.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/21/news/companies/viagra_lawsuit.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

AIDS group to sue Pfizer over Viagra ads

Foundation wants No. 1 drugmaker barred from marketing Viagra as lifestyle drug to enhance sex life.

January 21 2007: 3:15 PM EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A major U.S. AIDS treatment group plans to file a lawsuit Monday that accuses drug giant Pfizer Inc. of illegally promoting recreational use of its blockbuster impotence pill Viagra.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) told Reuters it wants Pfizer (Charts) to be barred from marketing Viagra as a lifestyle or sexual enhancement drug. The nonprofit organization said Pfizer's actions had led to risky behavior by men and an increase in HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

"Pfizer has created and contributed to the perception of Viagra as a safe, sexy, lifestyle, recreational drug, to be frequently used regardless of the degree, or even existence of" erectile dysfunction, the group said in draft legal documents.

Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, said it was committed to appropriate Viagra use and urged men to see a doctor for a proper diagnosis. The drug is sold by prescription.

AHF, in its legal arguments, pointed to several Viagra promotions from recent years, including a 2005 newspaper ad that featured a smiling man asking, "What are you doing on New Year's Eve?"

Another ad that ran near the 2006 Super Bowl urged men to "Be this Sunday's MVP" and ask their doctors about Viagra.

California-based AHF runs AIDS clinics in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia that provide medical care and services to more than 53,000 people even if they cannot pay.

Pfizer's Viagra Web site asks readers, "Want to improve your sex life?" and says the drug can help men who have erection difficulties "once in a while."

AHF President Michael Weinstein said the promotions made Viagra sound like a "party drug" that can make sex more pleasurable for healthy men - a claim the Food and Drug Administration has not approved.

Men in the ads also look much younger than Pfizer's earlier Viagra pitchman, former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who is now 83, he said.

"Bob Dole has been replaced by the hunky 40-something guy who looks like he can really have a good time," Weinstein said in an interview. "The message they are sending out is that any and every male should take it," he added.

Studies show evidence of recreational Viagra use among men who have sex with men, sometimes to overcome the erection-inhibiting effects of alcohol or street drugs such as ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, AHF said.

The group asked Pfizer repeatedly to alter its ads, Weinstein said.

In 2004, the FDA objected to a television commercial suggesting Viagra could return a man to the "wild thing" of his younger days. The FDA said the ad, showing a man sprouting devilish horns, made an unproven claim that men could regain a youthful level of sexual desire. Pfizer halted that campaign.

AHF's lawsuit, to be filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, asks that Pfizer be prohibited from running similar messages and ordered to fund awareness ads about sexually transmitted disease risks and Viagra.

The suit also requests that Pfizer turn over profits gained from misleading ads and pay AHF's costs of treating AIDS and other illnesses linked to Viagra use.

Pfizer spokeswoman Shreya Prudlo said the company was not aware of the planned lawsuit. She said Pfizer "has always been committed to safe and appropriate use of Viagra" and that the drug's label and promotions stated "Viagra does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV."

Sales of Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, reached $1.6 billion worldwide in 2005.

Sales growth has been crimped by competition from rival impotence medicine Cialis, which is sold by a joint venture of Eli Lilly & Co. (Charts) and Icos Corp. (Charts) Cialis works up to 36 hours, while Viagra works for about four hours.

And I'm back!

Since last time, here's what happened:

Following the worst day of my semester, I studied my ass off for finals and took those finals. They were alright - my grades weren't all that I wanted them to be, but I can work with them and still leave this program with a good GPA assuming I get the grades I want from here on out. Then I went home for break, which was fantastic. My cousin had his wedding reception at the end of December; planning a reception in a week's time is a damn lot of work. A lot of it was left to my mom, and she didn't want to be alone through the process so she chose to wait for me. I arrived home on the night of the 20th, and the reception was on the 30th. Extended family trickled in, and amidst planning the reception we managed to entertain and spend time with them too.

I also fell sick the day after I got home, and it turns out remnants of my illness are still with me now.

After the reception, I relaxed. I spent about a day in Davis, meeting up with old friends and professors. I got a bunch of stuff done for my thesis in terms of a topic and research to get me started, so that was great. Then I met a number of friends for lunch and what not, just to play catch up. And that was the extent of my time in California.

Last weekend I attended the Surat Sikh Conference for the first time, and it was a great experience. This was the first time in maybe four years that I attended anything like this on the East Coast, so I hoped that I would go there and be the "new girl" who no one really knew. Turns out, almost everyone knew me, and those who didn't know me heard of me before. It was still a great time though: the discussions were more stimulating than I anticipated, I thoroughly enjoyed the guest speakers, and it was definitely wonderful catching up with people I get to see very rarely. My brother came out to the conference as well, and these kinda things are really not his cup of tea so I was a bit anxious about how much he would enjoy himself. He seemed to have a fabulous time though, and though I would've loved to spend more time in California, this was a perfect way to end my break.

Now I am back in Boston. My courses this semester will be quite challenging; I'm taking a total of 18 units. From now until next month I have only one class, and then the other will begin. These two total 12 units, and they will continue to the end of May. At the end of May until the end of June, two more classes that comprise the remaining six units will take place, and that will be the end of the coursework for my Masters. It felt really good typing that out. Afterwards I will have my thesis, and then I can go home. Yay!

Anywho, I am back in action at the library on the second day of school, and am done with my study break now. Here I go!