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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (5978)	10/13/1998 11:24:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Philippine Star: Viagra only for married couples October 14, 1998 The Catholic Church welcomed yesterday the government's approval of the sale of anti-impotence pill Viagra in the country. But on one condition: That only married men would be allowed to buy them. Archbishop Oscar Cruz, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that morality in the use of Viagra boils down to the intention of its user and to the overall effect of the drug. "It is a medicine. So if it will be used to cure, why not?" said Cruz in a telephone interview. He added that Viagra is a "two-edged sword" which can be used for good or bad. The government approved the other day the sale of Viagra locally, with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) saying that the sale of the drug would still be subjected to close monitoring for the next three years. The drug is expected to cost P450 a pill here. Cruz added that Viagra should only be used to enhance the married life of couples and not to promote sexual promiscuity. He stressed that married couples are entitled to a healthy sex life. "You do not take medicine when you are not sick. You do not take medicine when it does you harmful effects," he said. He added that there have been reports in the United States of Viagra causing the separation of a couple. The man who used it allegedly left his wife for a younger woman after the drug restored his virility. Cruz also noted reports that patients with heart ailments or those taking drugs with nitrates have died after taking a pop of Viagra. Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Jaworski expressed lack of interest over Viagra, saying the drug could only lead to overpopulation. "Hindi natin kailangan niyan (We don't need that). Viagra will just worsen our population problem," he said. Over 850 drugstores nationwide are expected to sell Viagra in the next few days, said Pfizedr, the US company which manufactures the pill. Initially, 13,600 tablets of the drug are expected to be shipped to the country from Hong Kong this week but all these would be limited and those who want to buy them need a doctor's prescription to show to the drugstores. The drug has an 86-percent proven effectiveness on patients who tried it in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand aside from the United States, Pfizer said. -- Paolo Romero, Perseus Echeminada philstar.com