neoliberalism & pharmaceuticals
New York Times - Feburary 11, 2007
Spain Says Adi=F3s Siesta and Hola Viagra By DAN BILEFSKY
MADRID =97 A few months ago a man walked into a pharmacy in Madrid, =
pulled out two toy guns and told the attendants to hand over all the =
Viagra in stock. Two hours later, in what was perhaps a show of =
gratitude, he returned with two bouquets of roses, before being =
arrested.
Such are the extremes to which men in this famously macho country =
will go to obtain the male impotency drug =97 nicknamed sexo azul, or =
blue sex, by Spaniards =97 which costs $104 for a box of eight blue =
diamond-shaped tablets and has become as popular with teenage =
clubbers as it is with men in their 70s.
“There has been a Viagra explosion in Spain,” says Dr. Carlos San =
Mart=EDn, the country’s leading sexologist, who counsels couples and =
has tried Viagra himself. “Some people are taking it for =
physiological reasons, but Viagra is also becoming a social =
phenomenon, a recreational drug that men of all ages are using =
because they want to be supermen.”
Women are demanding that their boyfriends get prescriptions. Young =
partygoers are buying tablets from dealers in discos for as much as =
$80 a pill, cutting them into pieces, and distributing them among =
their friends, even though doing so diminishes the drug’s =
effectiveness, specialists say.
Doctors here say that some men are even faking symptoms to try to get =
the tablets, whose main ingredient, sildenafil citrate, helps =
increase the blood flow to the penis and is effective for up to four =
hours.
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, says Spain has moved into the vanguard =
of a European Viagra trend in part because economic prosperity has =
transformed the country from a relaxed Mediterranean culture, where =
the siesta was sacrosanct, into an Anglo-Saxon-style, workaholic nation.
This new stress, said Bel=E9n Alguacil Arconada, a Pfizer spokeswoman, =
is wreaking havoc with the Spanish male’s libido.
“We used to have a siesta, to sleep all afternoon, to eat well,” she =
said. “But now we have become a fast-food nation where everyone is =
stressed out, and this is not good for male sexual performance.”
Pfizer says it sold nearly one million boxes of Viagra in Spain last =
year, the equivalent of one box for every 17 men 18 and older. =
Globally, Pfizer earned $1.66 billion from Viagra sales in 2006.
Dr. San Mart=EDn, the sexologist, confirms that many couples complain =
they do not have enough time for sex and use Viagra as a sexual crutch.
“For me, it has become impossible during the week,” he said. “I talk =
about sex all day long, and when I come home at 11 p.m., it is very =
difficult to perform.”
Sociologists say that an increased willingness to address sexual =
problems reflects Spain’s sexual liberation after the repressiveness =
of the Franco years. Once one of the most conservative Catholic =
countries in Europe, Spain is now among the most liberal, with gay =
marriage, legalized abortion and one of the highest divorce rates on =
the Continent. The country’s freewheeling party culture also has =
played a role.
Dr. Eldiberto Fern=E1ndez, a urologist who specializes in erectile =
dysfunction, says talking about sex has lost its taboo.
“In the past,” Dr. Fern=E1ndez said, “men would come to see me and =
spend 40 minutes talking about their urinary output before finally =
whispering, ‘Doctor, I have a problem. Can you help me?’ Now they are =
no longer embarrassed.”
Dr. Fern=E1ndez recalled that a woman recently urged her husband to =
seek Viagra but that the husband later begged him to stop writing =
prescriptions.
“My equipment works fine with my mistress,” the man said. “It’s my =
wife that’s the problem.”
The Internet has also played a role in creating a giant black market =
for Viagra, which was discovered by accident in the 1990s when Pfizer =
researchers noticed that a medication they were developing to fight =
high blood pressure had the unintended effect of inducing erections. =
Today, counterfeit Viagra is widely available on thousands of Web =
sites, without a prescription.
The quest for Viagra was apparent on a recent day at a packed disco =
in Chueca, a bohemian district of Madrid, where a group of young men =
said they took Viagra because it increased sexual confidence. =
Santiago, a 32-year-old travel agent, who declined to give his last =
name because he did not want his girlfriend to know he was taking =
Viagra, called the drug a “sexual security blanket.”
“No one wants to admit it, but everyone is taking it,” he said. =
“After a night of hard drinking or taking Ecstasy, I take Viagra to =
make sure I can perform.”
Medical experts here say they are alarmed by Viagra’s transformation =
into a party drug, which young men are combining with illegal =
designer drugs like Ecstasy to make a cocktail that young clubbers =
call sextasy.
Dr. Fern=E1ndez, the urologist, said that Viagra generally had few side =
effects, but he warned that it could cause heart problems if mixed =
with illegal drugs like cocaine, amphetamines or Ecstasy.
The increasing sexual assertiveness of Spanish women has also =
contributed to the Viagra trend. B=E1rbara Alfonso, who last year =
opened Spain’s first escort service for women, in Barcelona, says =
Spanish men are struggling to adapt to sexual liberation among women.
She notes, however, that while many men think they need to take =
Viagra to satisfy women, what women really crave is companionship and =
good conversation.
“The new generation of women in Spain are less influenced by religion =
and tradition and are willing to do what it takes to have good sex, =
whether that means going to an escort service or giving their =
boyfriends Viagra,” she said.
One such woman is Carmen, a chic, twice-divorced 45-year-old =
information technology executive and Sophia Loren look-alike, who =
complains that her sexual ardor intimidates most Spanish men. =
Frustrated by her boyfriend’s sexual performance, Carmen insisted =
that he take Viagra, which he obtained by making a fake prescription =
on his home computer.
The Viagra worked, she says, but she decided anyway to leave her =
boyfriend, an urbane 55-year-old psychologist, for a 32-year-old =
unemployed student athlete.
“Viagra is not the solution many Spaniards think it is,” said Carmen, =
who declined to use her last name. “I came to realize that the =
problem wasn’t my boyfriend’s sexual prowess. The problem was him.”
Now, she added, “I have sex six times a day, but I do miss going to =
the opera.”
Not everyone here welcomes the country’s Viagra obsession. Nacho =
Vidal, Spain’s most famous porn star and something of an icon of =
Spanish male virility, complains that the widespread use of Viagra is =
destroying rather than strengthening Spanish male sexuality.
“Everyone is taking Viagra,” he said. “It is the new drug, and this =
is undermining Spanish men’s credibility. Before, you used to have to =
perform, but now all you need is a pill.”