AIDS group to sue
Viagra makers

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is suing Pfizer Inc. for promoting its impotence drug Viagra as a lifestyle and sexual enhancement tool. The organization told Reuters that Pfizer's marketing has encouraged risky behavior and a surge in HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

In a draft of legal documents, the California-based nonprofit said, "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]."

Research shows homosexual men are using Viagra recreationally, sometimes to counter the impotence caused by alcohol or drugs like crystal meth, said AHF.

According to Reuters, AHF president Michael Weinstein said the company's promotions make Viagra sound like a "party drug" that can improve sexual pleasure, a claim not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AHF legal documents gave examples of some illegal Viagra campaigns: A 2005 newspaper ad shows a smiling man asking, "What are you doing on New Year's Eve?" Another ad that ran at the time of the 2006 Super Bowl told men to "Be this Sunday's MVP." The company's Web site asks, "Want to improve your sex life?" and indicates that Viagra can help men who have ED "once in a while."

The typical Viagra user has also become younger in ads, said Weinstein. "Bob Dole has been replaced by the hunky 40-something guy who looks like he can really have a good time," Weinstein said to Reuters. "The message they are sending out is that any and every male should take it."

It's not a new criticism. In 2004 the FDA halted a Pfizer campaign that showed a man sprouting devil horns, which they said gave the false impression that Viagra could give a man a more youthful sexual desire. Pfizer stopped the advertisements.

Filed in Los Angeles superior court, AHF's lawsuit asks Pfizer to be barred from making similar marketing claims and forced to run ads about sexually transmitted disease risks and Viagra use. The group also requests that profits gained from misleading ads be given to AHF and that Pfizer pay the nonprofit's costs of treating illnesses like HIV and AIDS. AHF provides medical care to more than 53,000 people with AIDS in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Pfizer spokeswoman Shreya Prudlo said the drugmaker "has always been committed to safe and appropriate use of Viagra"; she notes that the drug label clearly indicates "Viagra does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV," reports Reuters. Prudlo was not aware of any lawsuit.

Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, is sold by prescription. In 2005, its sales hit $1.6 billion worldwide. (The Advocate)