In the recent past, Viagra in its different generic names is becoming the top over-the-counter pills. The drug is stocked in almost all chemists and is sold indiscriminately over the counter to anyone willing to buy it.
What you need to know:
“There is an occasional need to add a little mojo into my sex life and therefore, popping up an occasional pill enhances my sexual performance by extending the time for the orgasm and ensuring that my partner gets the best I can give,”
A man in his mid-20s saunters into a chemist shop and gestures to the attendant who knows exactly what he wants. She slinks to the back of the room and comes out with a single tablet carefully concealed in a white packet. Of course he does not need to order for it loudly for the fear that the other customers may read mischief in it. Usually, such a purchase is always clandestine for there is a stigma attached to being seen as sexually inept.
The man has just bought blue “diamond”, the pill promising to heighten his sex with his partner to the highest peak. Viagra is sold in Tanzania under different brand names such as Njoi, Cupid, Saheal and many others. The active ingredient in the drug is Sildenafil Citrate, the chemical compound deemed to enhance sexual performance in men.
From the look of things, this is not the first trip of this young man and is probably not the last to the shop because the attendant does not even bother to ask what he needs – she just hands it to him without much ado indicating that he is a regular customer of the drug. Other men troop in also with a similar mischievous demand and are secretly served. Just like he wouldn’t let the general public know, he certainly does not let his sexual partner know about it either. Most men like him would like to believe that the extra virility they derive from the drug is natural and so should their sexual partners believe.
To conceal it, the chemist attendant may at times trim the blister pack on the edges to completely obliterate the brand name of the drug, a notion that although the drug is sold across the counter, maybe that shouldn’t be the case. On the streets too, lots of blister packs of the Viagra are likely to be found discarded for as soon as a user leaves the chemist shop, he pops up the pill and tosses away the blister pack.
A user who chose anonymity admitted to occasional use of the drug, boasting that it lifts his ego, confirming the long held belief that men, in their bid to be seen as studs by women, will go to any length sometimes risking their lives only to impress women with their sexual prowess.
“There is an occasional need to add a little mojo into my sex life and therefore, popping up an occasional pill enhances my sexual performance by extending the time for the orgasm and ensuring that my partner gets the best I can give,” he said.
In the recent past, Viagra in its different generic names is becoming the top over-the-counter pills. The drug is stocked in almost all chemists and is sold indiscriminately over the counter to anyone willing to buy it.
Ideally, Viagra can only be prescribed by a doctor for diabetics and those with provable erectile dysfunction contrary to the new fad whereby anyone walks into a chemist shop and walks out with the drug uncensored.
According to Mr Abisai Stephen, a chemist based in Lushoto, the use of Viagra by physically and physiologically fit people is on a steep rise although the drug is only prescribed for correcting sexual ineffectiveness for diabetics and those suffering erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, which is the inability to get and maintain an erection that is sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse .
“Although there are no official figures to effect, Viagra use is becoming somewhat trendy these days with 6-7 people out of 10 using the pill. Indeed, in an ordinary chemist, they sell the drugs to any willing buyer indiscriminately without the doctor’s prescription,” says Abisai.
Prolonged use
The chemist quickens to warn that dire consequences could follow because of prolonged use of the drug and if it is used for leisure and not as a medication. He says the dangers include permanent impotence and priapism, a condition resulting in a prolonged and painful erection.
“This anti-impotence drug, although it is used to enhance sexual performance could easily result in permanent impotence or priapism, persistent painful erections in the users. Priapism may at times need a minor operation to correct it,” he adds.
Potent men are increasingly using it because they are embarrassed by their partner’s discovery that they rely on Viagra to achieve erections leading to anxiety. What typically follows is the development of a pattern of secret use and intensification of feelings of shame and guilt that only complicates the psychogenic erectile dysfunction they suffer.
“It is most unlikely that men using Viagra would let their partners know that they are using the drug as it bears with it a stigmatising shame. This in turn may result in impotence that does not really exist,” he adds.
Dr Sam Shita of Mission Mikocheni Hospital says there is more to it than meets the eye. The drug being a dilator (it enlarges the blood vessels including the heart), and besides the possibility of developing a heart attack, it has very serious ramifications to the central nervous system and the digestive tract. If used without a physician’s prescription other complications may arise. The Viagra packet also bears a warning that its use could result in nausea, dizziness, headache and difficulty in breathing, numbness and others.
“It is recommended that any user must have a physician’s prescription because the drug being a dilator, any cardiovascular disorder or long standing cases of diabetes can cause instant death from heart attack. People have died after using Viagra. One must use Viagra only when prescribed by a doctor since the physician is in a better position to know the right type and dosage,” says Dr Shita.
