Up and at ‘em
Viagra burst onto an expectant market 12 years ago on the 1st of July. Wow, how time flies!
I was fortunate enough to have been on the UK launch team for Viagra, and we were desperate to ensure that it was promoted ethically and was given enough space to be taken seriously – as a product that met a genuine patient need. One that impacted on the lives of millions of people.
The press went mad, “sex drug” shouted from every red top. Knee jerk Health Secretary Frank Dobson’s fears about rampant demand introduced restrictions, which clamped down treatment provision resulting in only 17% of those men who would benefit getting a prescription. GPs were told to restrict their prescribing to one pill per week. All driven by fears that the NHS would be swamped by demands for the new drug.
It’s all seems ages ago and now strange to think of a Health Secretary wanting to dictate the sex lives of their citizens. ‘Once a week Dobing’ was laughed at by many, but still acceptable.
The category perceptions changed, and ED was forced into the sunlight. Now discussed and treated in a very different world. Walking in Soho with Debbie I spied this photo, a demonstration that perceptions change, but somewhere some of your audience remains intransient. How things have moved on!
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