Is Viagra a lifestyle drug?

Drug manufacturers walk a difficult line. One the one hand they develop treatments for some of the most dangerous of the diseases we face. Without these drugs, millions more people around the world would die. But they also define other “problems” as diseases and produce drugs to treat them. To understand the issue, let’s take a few examples of what the academics like to call medicalization. Weight loss is big business. We spend millions of dollars a year on a range of different pills to “treat” it. In reality, all you need do to lose weight is eat smaller portions of more healthy food. Not one of the drugs on the market directly reduces your body weight. It all comes down to you burning more calories than you eat. Then we come to the millions some spend on drugs to help them quit smoking. Again, all that takes is a little self-discipline. If you actually want to quit, you can without the help of an expensive drug. Then what about hair loss? Sure some men and women do look a little strange as their hair thins and falls out, but do we really want to spend all that money on solving the “problem”? It’s rather the same with acne. When you’re growing up, it’s part of life. If you use a simple cleanser to keep the skin clean, it will clear up on its own. And that’s before we get to the drugs used to treat the problem of a painful period. Amazingly, some women are convinced this is a disease that requires treatment.

So then we come to those little blue pills. Erectile dysfunction is a deeply embarrassing problem that affects large numbers of men as they grow older. Before 1998, they lived lives of enforced celibacy. Now they can get back to enjoying sex. But is the enjoyment of sex as you grow older a lifestyle, recreational activity, or is erectile dysfunction a disease with the little blue pills an essential remedy? Why, you ask, is this an important question? Well, let’s briefly wander over to Milwaukee. Back in the days when the economy was booming, the School Board agreed to fund up to six pills a month under the health plan. When more than 1,000 current and retired teachers began claiming and the cost was rocketing up, the Board stopped payment in 2005. At todays’s prices, this would cost $800,000 a year. The reason given for the continuing refusal is that Viagra is a lifestyle drug used for recreation purposes. The men are claiming sexual discrimination because the health plan continues to pay for treating the female equivalent problem.

Now comes the time for real honesty. Men who suffer erectile dysfunction can lose their self-confidence. Unhappy and depressed men make poor teachers. The School Board should therefore fund the treatment. Unless, of course, the men are playing the system to have a little extra sexual fun at the expense of the state. This is going to end up in court which will cost everyone more money that could be spent on keeping more teachers employed. This is irrational during a recession.

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