08/12 16:43 Central American men eagerly await Viagra
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Central American men are hungry for the "love pill" Viagra, with some 50 percent of the region's sexually active men suffering some degree of impotence, a regional expert said.
"In general terms, studies indicate that 50 percent of the men in the region from 20, 25, 40 up to 70 years suffer some degree of erectile dysfunction," said Guatemalan urologist Enrique Martinez.
Martinez, a consultant to New York-based Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>, which created the anti-impotence pill Viagra, spoke Tuesday evening during a promotional presentation of the drug to Honduran doctors in the capital Tegucigalpa.
Local potential consumers of Viagra, which in Honduras has become known as "the love pill," are eagerly awaiting next week's official release, he said.
The product already is available in Costa Rica and has been sold unofficially in Honduras, while Pfizer officials say they expect the pill to hit the markets in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama soon.
Honduran health authorities said earlier this year they would confiscate Viagra, which according to local newspapers was "selling like hot cakes" in the country even though distribution had not been authorized.
Sales of the prescription drug have boomed in the United States, where thousands of men suffering from impotence after illnesses such as prostrate cancer say it has improved their sex lives.
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