An AIDS advocacy group in Los Angeles has asked the makers of Viagra to cease a marketing campaign that appears to promote the drug's recreational use.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation said in an advertisement run in various publications that recreational use of the erectile dysfunction treatment manufactured by Pfizer Inc. could lead to behaviors that increase the risk of an HIV infection that leads to AIDS, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The group said the drug has become popular among gay men who use methamphetamine, a drug that has been tied to risky sexual behavior that could result in HIV infection.
"We call on Pfizer to exercise responsibility by discontinuing marketing to men with mild erectile dysfunction and by initiating an educational campaign on the dangers of Viagra and meth targeting men who have sex with men," the ad said.
Pfizer denied advocating unsafe use of Viagra.
"We've always been committed to the safe and appropriate use of Viagra," said Shontelle Dodson, Pfizer's senior medical director. "We always encourage men to see their physicians for the proper diagnosis."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
1/3 of sexually active older adults with HIV/AIDs has unprotected sex
One out of three sexually active older adults infected with HIV has unprotected sex, according to a study by Ohio University researchers. A survey of 260 HIV-positive older adults found that of those having sex, most were male, took Viagra and were in a relationship.
Parasitic worm infections increase susceptibility to AIDS viruses
Persons infected with schistosomes, and possibly other parasitic worm infections, may be more likely to become infected with HIV than persons without worm infections, according to a study published July 23rd in the open-access journal
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Researchers urge integrating TB into HIV care
In resource-limited settings where tuberculosis is a major cause of mortality among HIV patients and where a multidrug-resistant TB epidemic is emerging, researchers are pressing for approaches to integrate TB prevention and treatment into HIV care and treatment.
Malaria Millennium Development Goal 'unlikely to be met'
The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria globally is unlikely to be met, according to Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow Professor Bob Snow. The statement comes in a report published today in the open access journal
PLoS Medicine.
New research links International Monetary Fund loans with higher death rates from tuberculosis
International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans were associated with a 16.6% rise in death rates from tuberculosis (TB) in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern European countries between 1992 and 2002, finds a study in this week's
PLoS Medicine.
Viral recombination another way HIV fools the immune system
When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus. It is known that the presence of multiple viral strains, called superinfection, frequently leads to a loss of immune control of viral levels. Now a study from the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (PARC/MGH) shows that how and where viral strains swap DNA may be determined by the immune response against the original infecting strain. Their report will appear in the
Journal of Experimental Medicine and has been released online.
New evidence of battle between humans and ancient virus
For millennia, humans and viruses have been locked in an evolutionary back-and-forth -- one changes to outsmart the other, prompting the second to change and outsmart the first. With retroviruses, which work by inserting themselves into their host's DNA, the evidence remains in our genes.
Plans for large-scale AIDS vaccine trial dropped
(AP) -- Plans for a large-scale trial of a potential AIDS vaccine are being dropped in favor of a smaller, more focused study, the National Institutes of Health said Thursday.