History speech on Viagra

Of all the things in the world today, nothing makes a guy feel bad quite like not being able to get it up. Or so I’ve heard.

Well, hope became available for $5-$10 a pill on March 27, 1998 when Pfizer Labs’ sildenafil citrate tablets were approved for sale as Viagra.

Viagra is the latter-day chicken that crossed the road: it has been the source of more jokes than Dan Quayle and the potato incident.

Few people know what it’s really for, most people think of sex-crazed 90 year old men chasing around anything that moves. Today, I will tell you what exactly Viagra does, and I will also brief you on its brief history.

First, I shall tell you what Viagra is. Now, what is Viagra, you might ask? Well, it’s a pill designed to correct what Bob Dole calls Erectile Dysfunction. It supposedly fixes in about 70% of affected men the problem that keeps them from achieving a full erection.

It wouldn’t seem like a hard problem to fix, but in reality it has been quite hard. Prior to Viagra’s approval by the FDA, men usually had to have an implant to fix the problem. Viagra is an easy, relatively cheap, and discreet solution to the problem. All you have to do is take a tablet of either 25, 50, or 100 milligrams about an hour before engaging in “sexual activity,” and in that hour, your “friend” will be ready to party as well.

The stereotype of old men with the sex drive of a young stallion is just not true. These old men are no different than they were before Viagra, they simply have the means now. In addition, many middle-aged men need it as well. It is just a medicine that allows blood to stay “down there” where it needs to be for such activities.

Sadly, some men have died because of Viagra. Usually, it’s not from taking the drug, but because their bodies couldn’t handle the stress of their new hobbies. Also, the drug tends to have a nasty interaction with nitroglycerin medications and make the blood pressure drop big-time, which is not good.

People should also realize that Viagra is not meant for everyone. Therefore, women, children, and newborns should not take Viagra, according to the manufacturer. There are some side effects, such as headache, runny nose, upset stomach, urinary tract infection, vision problems, and diarrhea. The most common side effect was the headache, occurring in about 14% of those studied. Other side effects had much lower occurrences. Also, it is recommended that you see your doctor if your erection lasts for longer for four hours after taking Viagra.

Now, on to the brief history of Viagra. There really is little history before September 29, 1997. That is when Pfizer submitted Viagra to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. After the usual tests, the drug was OK’ed for approval, and went on sale in the US market. Viagra was an instant hit, with several million prescriptions written in the first few weeks of availability. It was fully endorsed by both Bob and Elizabeth Dole. It was also endorsed by many insurance companies, who decided to fund Viagra. This started a controversy because they would not fund birth control pills, leaving many women to feel cheated.

The popularity of Viagra prompted many gray-marketers to post web sites offering it for sale cheap, without a prescription needed. A simple search at a search engine such as AltaVista shows hundreds of sites offering it for sale. At some other sites, you fill out an online questionnaire, and if approved you can get Viagra without ever having seen a doctor.

The pill was a rousing success, not only for many men whose prayers were answered, but also for Pfizer labs, a drug company who many had not heard of before Viagra. Their stock price shot up 33 percent in the first month of Viagra being for sale.

In the year and a half since its first being offered to the general public, the novelty and jokes have generally disappeared. However, the gray market web sites remain. In addition, many herbal alternatives to Viagra are offered for sale, claiming to have the same results with all-natural ingredients.

This only includes the United States, however. Viagra has been a smash hit in other countries. In Japan, the drug was approved in 6 months instead of the 2 to 3 years it usually takes to get approval. The birth control pill is outlawed there, which is causing a large controversy.

So, now that we have looked a little bit into what Viagra is, and the history of it, I hope that you, the audience, have a better grasp on what the drug really is. In future speeches, I will cover the issue of whether Viagra is truly necessary for men’s health, or whether it’s nothing more than just a pleasure pill that Men want, but think they need.