6 ms·
> FDA confirmed through laboratory analyses that the “MANNERS Energy Boost,” “Round 2,” “Genergy,” and “X Max Triple Shot Energy Honey” products, purchased on w
by Sanzig 3y ago
> FDA confirmed through laboratory analyses that the “MANNERS Energy Boost,” “Round 2,” “Genergy,” and “X Max Triple Shot Energy Honey” products, purchased on www.amazon.com, contained the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) tadalafil; and the “WeFun,” “Big Guys Male Energy Supplement,” and “Mens Maximum Energy Supplement” products, also purchased on www.amazon.com, contained the API sildenafil. These ingredients are not declared on the products’ labeling. Sildenafil and tadalafil are phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors and the active ingredients in the FDA-approved prescription drugs Viagra and Cialis, respectively, used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED).
So Amazon was literally selling Viagra and Cialis disguised as a supplement. Wow.
- EA-3167 3y agoNot just Amazon, every time these "ED supplements" are tested, most of them turn out to have actual pharmaceuticals in them. Here's a similar article from 5 years ago: https://www.wired.com/story/dietary-supplements-can-contain-viagra-steroids-or-worse/ https://www.wired.com/story/dietary-supplements-can-contain-...
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bpodgursky 3y agoCan we have an honest conversation about whether there's any good reason for Viagra to require a prescription? The barrier right now is that you have to waste 2 hours and $100 to tell a doctor that you have ED. What's the point? It's not stopping anyone except people too poor or busy to jump through the hoops.
- lokar 3y agoA middle ground is to let a pharmacist dispense it after going over side effects, instructions, interactions and existing conditions (without a Rx).
- Sanzig 3y agoYeah, I think this is the most reasonable approach. ED medication can have some nasty side effects and interactions, so a medical professional should be in the loop - but that professional could easily be a pharmacist who already has a copy of all the other Rx drugs the patient is taking.
- junofan 3y agoFeels a little silly to be forced to have a chat with the lady at the grocery store pharmacy about dick pills whenever I might need them. I can just order it on Amazon apparently.
- dreamcompiler 3y agoThat would work. Viagra is a blood-pressure lowering drug (that was its original purpose). If you take it with other BP-lowering drugs like nitroglycerin etc, you could pass out or even die. So some degree of oversight by a medical professional is warranted.
- everforward 3y agoThe pharmacist probably doesn't have a medical history. You could have a copy sent to them from your doc. At that point we're approaching the same level of hassle as just getting a prescription, though. My proposal would be to create a new type of rx: a "standing rx". Some form of probably-digital rx that your doctor gives you that allows you to buy unlimited quantities of the named drug until the doctor revokes it, and it's easily transfer-able between pharmacies. Digital mostly to provide a means of revoking it that doesn't involve calling the doctor every time you try to buy it, though I'm open to counter-arguments about being vulnerable to hacking. Then you only have to go through the hassle once, and it's honestly probably easier to have your doctor check the interactions than it is to do yourself. They have nifty tools to do that kind of stuff. I do still wonder whether it should just be OTC, though. On one hand, the interactions are easy to understand. On the other hand, I routinely see people not read or intentionally ignore the instructions on stuff like tylenol (oh it says 2? I'll take 4, because my headache is bad). The common "do we give adults agency or try to protect them from themselves?" issue.
- dec0dedab0de 3y agoThe reason is to check for preexisting conditions and negative interactions with other medicines. Also, the barrier is even lower than what you say with companies like blue chew, hims, etc.
- dahart 3y agoIf we’re going to have an honest conversation, Sildenafil does have some serious potential side effects and contraindications. Googling “why does viagra require a prescription?” I get an answer attributed to Healthline: “due to these severe (but rare) side-effects, Viagra requires a prescription”. At least acknowledge that, it is a good reason. A doc visit does take time but it neither takes 2 hours nor costs $100 for me, co-pay is still $20 I think (or maybe covered 100% once a year), and the visit might be 45 minutes when the clinic is pretty busy. There is plenty that’s messed up and wrong with our health care system and insurance, but maybe the minor hurdle of having to require a doc to check on the potential for side-effects really is justified? Another decent reason, I speculate, is that the drug is relatively new and we don’t know the long term effects of overuse, nor all of the contraindications. If it’s available over the counter and many men use it when they don’t really need it, just because it’s available and easy, there could be dramatic unforeseen consequences. Like a lot of drugs, Viagra might be something that people look to as an easier alternative to changing habits or doing preventative work.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> maybe the minor hurdle of having to require a doc to check on the potential for side-effects really is justified? Viagra is trivially available on the black market because many people don’t want to put up with that B.S. Antibiotics have a public interest in being gatekept; they harm everyone if abused. A similar argument can be made for addictive substances. Merely-harmful drugs, on the other hand, can be disclaimed and, where the clinical and fatal doses are close, diluted. Beyond that, we’re manufacturing busywork.
- dahart 3y agoEverything is available on the black market, that doesn’t mean regulations are BS, it means people are willing to risk breaking the law to avoid being tracked. The demand for Viagra might have more to do with being embarassed about ED or other fears than with concern about the difficulty of getting it legally. (As another commenter pointed out, the bar is extremely low when using online remote clinics.) What does “merely-harmful” mean? What do you mean it can be disclaimed? If it were over the counter, how will people know when and how to avoid fatal doses? Why do you assume it might be either effective or safe if diluted?
- beejiu 3y agoThis is how it is in the UK now, it's an OTC drug, so you can simply buy it in pharmacy or online.
- eggy 3y agoBut then you cut off the career path of an FDA lackey in becoming a big pharma exec after they've served big pharma so well. Curious if they went after supplements that don't step on big pharma products, but are actually harmful to the public they supposedly serve. Reminds me of the X-Ray glasses and aphrodisiac ads from old magazines and comics when I was a kid. Cosmetics get away with anti-aging and beautification claims, but I believe they are not regulated by the FDA for thise claims, because a lot if it is hogwash.
- sdbrown 3y agoTadalafil (Cialis) is available as a generic in the United States. If you think "big pharma" is served by drugs going off-patent, you may want to re-evaluate your perspective. If you want to get more reasonably unhappy with market exclusivity, look at Celgene's grip on thalidomide/lenalidomide/pomalidomide for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
- jcampbell1 3y agoThey are practically OTC everywhere in the world. A huge pain in the add to get in the US where the MD cartel engages in rent seeking by claiming every pharmaceutical is dangerous and they need $200 every quarter to let you buy the meds at hyper inflated prices.
- Sanzig 3y agoWell, sure, but the solution to that is to make it OTC or added to the list of medications that pharmacists are allowed to prescribe by themselves. That way the medication dispensed is still coming from an authorized and inspected facility with adequate quality control. Mixing it with dodgy supplements is not the solution.