Viagra abuse endemic among Argentinean youth

Viagra abuse is reportedly on the rise amongst young and healthy Argentinean men.

Typically aged between 17 and 25, these men come from financially stable backgrounds, are well educated, and have shining future prospects. Seemingly, they should have nothing to worry about.

But despite living the high-life and being in the peak of their sexual prime, these men are also surrounded by a culture that demands high sexual performance.

Adrian Sapatti, an Argentinean sexologist, told a journalist: "For them, sex has become a test with specific goals to attain, like giving their partner a certain number of orgasms or making intercourse last for a certain amount of time." After they have partied all night, drinking, perhaps taking popular drugs such as ecstasy, they seek out Viagra from friends, bar staff, other night club staff or drug dealers before they hit the bedroom.

Viagra is not physically addictive. And yet some of these men may develop a psychological dependency on the drug. For instance one 23-year old man admitted: "I took it to try and feel all-powerful, but when my girlfriend asked me to continue taking it, I had the feeling of having failed." Men like this may continually take Viagra for fear that if they do not, they will not reach orgasm with their partner.

Compounding the problem further is the fact that black market Viagra is rife in Argentina. It is believed that between 12 and 15 percent of erectile dysfunction drugs sold in the country are fake. Because these pills have not undergone any sort of quality control, they could be a danger to the health of these otherwise largely healthy young men.

The real purpose of Viagra, and other erectile dysfunction treatments, is to help men who find it difficult to obtain and maintain an erection. It is not recommended as a drug to simply make sex last longer.