A new ad campaign
asking pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to end its promotion
of Viagra as a sexual-enhancement drug will launch in New
York on Wednesday and Los Angeles next week. The print
campaign by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which will
appear in The Village Voice and gay newspapers
The New York Blade and Los Angeles's
Frontiers, also warns gay men of the danger of
using Viagra with crystal meth.
"We call on Pfizer to exercise responsibility by
discontinuing marketing to men with mild erectile
dysfunction and by initiating an educational campaign
on the dangers of Viagra and meth, targeting men who
have sex with men," the ad copy reads. Headlined
"Viagra/Meth Alert!" the ad also features an image of
a doctor's prescription with the text "Viagra +
Crystal Meth = Rx for HIV infection."
"Pfizer's direct-to-consumer marketing of
Viagra as a drug to enhance sexual performance, aimed
at men who don't necessarily suffer from
erectile dysfunction, is irresponsible, especially in light
of the drug's known use as part of a
'circuit party cocktail' that is fueling the
spread of STDs and HIV," Michael Weinstein, president
of the L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in
a statement. "By marketing Viagra to men with
'mild' erectile dysfunction, for men with
'all degrees of ED, even if it only happens
once in a while,' or as a way to 'improve your
sex life'...Pfizer is selling the drug as a way to enhance
sexual experience, not as a treatment for an illness.
We urge Pfizer to not only end this dangerous
marketing tactic but also to fund a national
educational campaign on the dangers of Viagra and crystal
meth, in order to mitigate the negative impact its
advertising continues to have."
Numerous research studies have shown a link
between the use of Viagra, both by itself and with
crystal meth, and an increased risk of HIV and STD
infection. In the past Pfizer was forced by the Food and
Drug Administration to withdraw ads that suggested
Viagra could restore a man's youthful vigor and become
a "wild thing." (The Advocate)
