Herbal Sex Pills May Pose Health Risks

Men Using Heart Or Blood-Pressure Drugs Could Suffer Heart Attacks Or Strokes

(AP)  Many health insurance plans provide limited coverage for prescription sex pills, especially for those with health-related difficulties. Few over-the-counter treatments are covered, and herbals aren't likely to be among them, in part because they're classified as foods not pharmaceuticals, said Mohit M. Ghose, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents major health insurers.

Spiked pills have turned up in Thailand, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to testing done by Pfizer Inc., the New York-based pharmaceutical giant that developed Viagra. The company said that 69 percent of 3,400 supplements it purchased in China contained sildenafil citrate, the main ingredient in Viagra. Pfizer didn't check for the patented ingredients of its rivals.

Under U.S. law, because such pills are "dietary supplements," they're far less regulated than pharmaceuticals and face few barriers to market. Viagra, by contrast, underwent years of testing before it was publicly available.

While herbal alternatives often contain exact copies of the patented drugs, some makers tweak the molecules to keep the effect of the original pharmaceutical while avoiding the scrutiny of the FDA and outside testing labs.

Federal officials have only recently stepped up investigations and prosecutions, and in any case, the FDA's recall power is limited. Last week, in response to safety concerns about imported toothpaste, dog food and toys, President Bush recommended that the FDA be authorized to order mandatory recalls of dangerous products.

Currently, recalls are voluntary, and even if the agency determines that a product poses a "significant health risk," a firm may refuse to cooperate. Plus, recalled products are widely offered on the Internet and pills are hard to round up.

Before a product called Nasutra was recalled a year ago by its manufacturer, the FDA had received a 30-year-old man's report of a raging headache and an erection that wouldn't go down. Following the recall, a 32-year-old man reported having spontaneous nose bleeds after taking the pill, records show.

E-mails requesting comment from Nasutra LLC, the company that voluntarily recalled the product in September 2006, were not returned. The FDA says the firm is located in Los Angeles; there is no listed phone number in the region.

During the past year, the FDA has orchestrated eight recalls of "herbal" pills that contained the ingredients found in Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, or their unregulated chemical cousins. Many of the firms were based around Los Angeles, their offices ranging from an unsigned door in a grungy hall on the fringe of downtown to a gated complex near Beverly Hills.

One recall involved a pill called Liviro3.

The current owner of the drug's marketing and distributing firm said that after he tried the product, he quit his job at a car dealership and bought the brand name and stock of several thousand pills in 2004 for $450,000. In January, he said, FDA agents seized his stockpile after an agency lab found that Liviro3 contained tadalafil, the main ingredient in Cialis. The man told the AP he'd had no idea the pills were drug-laced.

One prosecution involved V. Vigor Corp., the Long Island-based maker of Vigor-25. While the product was advertised as containing Asian ginseng, lycium fruit and Chinese yam rhizome, FDA testing indicated that the pills contained Viagra.

Company executive Michael Peng had agreed to stop selling Vigor-25 following an FDA agent's visit in late 2004, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. But between then and his arrest in September, at least 4.5 million pills were packaged for distribution, the affidavit said. According to prosecutors, Peng thought he could evade tests simply by switching from the sildenafil citrate he imported from China to Levitra's active ingredient, vardenafil, a shipment of which U.S. Customs intercepted from Thailand.

Levitra is marketed by Schering-Plough Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

Peng, who said through his attorney that he was "unaware that there was anything other than natural supplements" in Vigor-25, faces a charge of misbranding, in this instance, claiming that a pharmaceutical is a dietary supplement.

Two other pills, Spontane-ES and Stamina-RX, were made by companies run by Jared Wheat, who's facing federal charges in Atlanta that he peddled knockoff pharmaceuticals cooked in a Central American lab. Prosecutors tried to keep Wheat from posting bail by asserting that he contemplated killing an FDA investigator and bribing a prosecutor.

Fulmer rejected those assertions, which did not lead to charges, saying Wheat is hardworking and nonviolent. Fulmer said Wheat's two businesses are legitimate and continue to be successful.

Wheat was granted bond after pledging approximately $7.5 million in cash and property; he's free under home confinement.

[rushman71]

MityWhity: Ahhkakakakakakaka!!!!

[eggy1620]

I was not claiming that FDA regs render it safe. I was pointing out that herbals are not regulated at all. Nothing to ensure that every supplement pill actually has in it what the label claims. FDA ensures quality control, not safety. Safety should be for the medical community to discern.

[rushman71]

ecuadoriana: I have to tell you, that was the BEST comment I''ve ever read.

[ecuadoriana]

eggy1620, I certainly was never suggesting that herbals were better or worse. I was commenting on your misguided notion that just because the FDA deems a BigPharm OK to use that means its safe. Like I said, if the side effects don''t kill you (& don''t say they didn''t warn you because they most certainly did in microscopic print), then they''ll prescribe something else that might.

The real tip of the problem, & by tip I really mean tip, is that men still continue to live in their fantasy pants world where they are still a high school stud, humping away with the prom queen in the back of daddy''s car. Fact is they never were a stud, never will be & who gives a rat''s butt anyway. The important thing is to be confident in who you are as a whole person. The little bits will follow.

[honestabe8]

I took some herbal *** pills with my iron tablets...ended up spinning around and pointing due north.

[eggy1620]

Ecuadoriana, you would eat your words if herbals and supplements were required to list their chemical constituents and possible side effects.

[ecuadoriana]

And to eggy1620: You wrote: "The only difference between all natural and Big Pharma is that Big Pharma%u2019s drugs are made under strict FDA regulation." Posted at 08:12 AM : Nov 13, 2007

This is the part that cracked me up: "...Big Pharma%u2019s drugs are made under strict FDA regulation." HA HA HA!!! And how many strictly regulated chemdrugs have finally been pulled from the market because of their deadly side effects?! Have you ever read the fine print on any prescription meds lately? The warnings are enough to induce fevers, chills, diarrhea, vomiting & heart palpitations! But of course if you tell your doctor this he/she will prescribe another drug for the anxiety you suffer from reading the labels! Meanwhile don''t hold your breath waiting for a postcard from his tropical vacation, paid for by BigPharm''s Rewards Benefits Drug Pushing Program. But if you do, & should you experience dizziness & fainting, don''t worry! He''ll have yet another drug for that, too.

You''ll just have to wait for him to finish parking his new Jaguar before he can write the prescription for you.

[ecuadoriana]

"ecuadoriana: FYI: The guys taking these pills are NOT thinking about the woman...they''re thinking about THEMSELVES." Posted by incog-nito at 11:54 PM : Nov 12, 2007

Exactly! That''s why I said, "It''s your big ego, not your little willy that is the real problem here!"

rfcnj68 posted at 07:16 PM : Nov 12, 2007 : "ecuadoriana hate to say it is the porn movies the people watch that show men with big ones and women really getting into it. The reality is they are better actors then they are given credit for..."

Exactly! That''s the point. The porn stars are actors- that means they are acting! If the normal male has that much trouble differentiating between reality & fiction then he has bigger problems on his plate- he must also think that Wile E. Coyote & the Roadrunner are really chasing each other all over the desert with anvils & exploding cigars! If this is the case then his partner had better find him/herself a "real" man, not one still sporting Underoos!

[eggy1620]

One thing most people don%u2019t realize about herbals is that they are manufactured from the same plant based derivatives as prescription drugs. The only difference between all natural and Big Pharma is that Big Pharma%u2019s drugs are made under strict FDA regulation. Not so with herbals.

[anonbene]

This sounds like one of those fake ads that''s made to sound like a news story. Saying things like, it could happen, it may happen, blah, blah, blah. Enjoy your *** lives and each other no matter what you have to do to get there.
Note to all you women out there, It''s your patriotic duty to flash your boobs every chance you get, if you don''t do it the terrorists won;)

drinuk that is such disturbing news about that European meeting. Alkalizing the body is truly the answer for cancer. It can be done for pennies a day with baking soda.

[incog-nito]

ecuadoriana: FYI: The guys taking these pills are NOT thinking about the woman. They do it because they''re thinking about THEMSELVES. The woman''s feelings were never part of the equation.

[drinuk]

Baileycc. Right now a meeting is going on Europe to limit the use of Vitamins Worldwide, it''s called Codex.
Why do they want to limits Vitamins ? Because we are learning that they can cure cancer, Vitamin C for skin cancer, news released yesterday, B-17 for various other cancers and so it goes on. Big Pharma want Vitamins weakened so that they can manipulate the market so only they have the right to sell them at stupid prices. If I ever meet a politician who voted for this I will shoot him or her, on behalf on those dying of cancer.

[mitywhity]

l-arginine is good. It''s the nitric oxide compound in it that triggers the erection anyway. Nitric oxide also increase the vitality and life of the epithelial cells within your blood vessels. Helps the old hydraulics keep good pressure as well as strengthening the linining of your vessels against aneurysm. Take care of your body and she''ll take care of you I have always been told.

As usual drinuk is right on. My question is why would anyone take a prescription drug loaded with side effects when there are so many natural products with great results and no side effects? The winner is the amino acid L-Arginine. You will never see this information in the main steam media because their main income is from Big Pharma.

[drinuk]

Guess What Folks ?? This article is sponsored by Big Pharma, they hate anything natural they can''t patent.

Pfizer Hate Pf---ing natural pills, I wonder why?

[mitywhity]

I just eat a can of spinach. I''m strong to the finishk ''cause I eats me spinachk!

[rfcnj68]

ecuadoriana hate to say it is the porn movies the people watch that show men with big ones and women really getting into it. The reality is they are better actors then they are given credit for because those *** scenes only last about 10 minutes at the most.

Women and men need to communicate in the bed room and learn what each other likes and work on your conditioning that will help you to go longer.

[ecuadoriana]

Hey guys! Here''s a "no brainer" (which means this should be easy for you): Concentrate less on your size insecurity (it''s all in your head- either one), less on duration, & less on your own ego. It''s your big ego, not your little willy that is the real problem here!

You don''t need ANY pills, enhancements, herbs, toys, lubes... You only need to take your time & prolong the foreplay- that''s where the REAL action is anyway! Any dog can in/out for hours. Big whoop.

Stop buying into the hype of "what she really wants". Those viagra/cialis companies only want your money & they play on your misguided macho fantasies to sell you solutions to a malady that only exists in your mind!

What she really wants is for you to be confident in yourself as a loving, caring, intelligent human. Those are the sorts of things that really turn her on. Oh, having a steady job, helping with the kids, and cleaning up after yourself (after all, she isn''t your mom- if you''re having s*x with your mom then you have bigger issues than a short, limp willy) will get you extra good lovin''.

So leave the pills to the drug addicts (who by the way are not very attractive physically or mentally) and have fun. A good healthy relationship with your partner should not be a chore. You want a chore? Go take out the trash. When you get back take your clothes off and love the one you''re with.

If all else fails try touching her with your hands & for heaven sakes- use your tongue!!!