Viagra boom: brothel business
comes alive
By Brendan Riley
CARSON CITY (Nevada): Business has been real
good for Joe Richards since spring and he credits it to
Viagra. He's no pharmacist, he owns two brothels.
Richards says the wildly-popular impotence pill has
increased activity at Cherry Patch and Mabel's by
about 10 per cent.
''We have a lot of guys who used to come here but
stopped, and now they're back. The girls say they're
on the pill,'' said Richards. ''We're talking older
fellows, in their 60s or older.''
For all the talk about Viagra, its effectiveness boils
down to what goes on behind the closed doors. Until
now, no one's heard from those in the world's oldest
profession, and some are certainly happy with the
new medicine.
''I wish we could sell Viagra,'' Richards said. ''If we
could advertise it and have it on the premises, we'd
be in a good shape.''
Made by Pfizer Inc, Viagra is the first pill to treat
male impotence. The company has said there have
been 1.7 million new prescriptions for the drug since
March; 80 per cent of them for men over 50.
Doctors have warned patients not to combine Viagra
with nitrates, some of which are found in heart
medications. And deaths among men who took
Viagra have gone up to 16, including seven who died
during or after sex.
The Federal Drug Administration said there has
been no evidence that Viagra is to blame for the
death of the men, most of whom were in their 60s
and 70s.
Not that the deaths have scared Viagra-packing
visitors in Nevada, where prostitution is illegal in
Reno and Las Vegas but allowed in some counties.
There are some 30 brothels.
Dennis Hof, owner of Moonlight Bunnyranch and
Miss Kitty's Fantasy Ranch east of Carson city, said
business at the brothels has increased by at least 20
per cent since March. Bunnyranch manager Suzette
Gwin said Viagra is the reason; her customers say it's
so.
''There have been some guys in here who look about
80,'' Ms Gwin said. ''They come in with their canes.
But the girls don't care if their customers are 18 or
100 years' old.''
Not everyone buys the good news.
George Flint, head of the Nevada brothel owners'
association, thinks the claim of a Viagra impact is all
hype.
''By the time you spend $10 for one pill, you can't
afford to go to the ranch,'' said Flint, who also speaks
for the fabled Mustang Ranch, east of Reno.
''I discussed this with the manager at Mustang and
she laughed and said there's absolutely no impact,''
Flint added. ''Oh, sure, probably eight or 10 people
have taken this opportunity, but you have to realise
there are half a million clients who come to Nevada
brothels every year.''
''In fact,'' Flint said, ''the effect of Viagra on
Nevada's brothel business probably amounts to less
than 1 per cent: there's no parade of old codgers
coming in.''(AP)
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