US’ largest HIV/AIDS Healthcare provider says Pfizer?s direct-to-consumer ads for Viagra encourage recreational use and contributes to increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS healthcare, prevention and education provider in the United States which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, including 14 healthcare and treatment centers in California and Florida, today announced its filing of a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., the world?s largest pharmaceutical company and manufacturer of erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil citrate), over its marketing tactics and advertising.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation is bringing this legal action?believed to be the first of its kind against any erectile-dysfunction drug manufacturer over direct to consumer drug advertising practices?which is being filed Monday morning in Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County, for ?Unlawful, Unfair and Fraudulent Business Practices? in Violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, et seq., and Section 17500 et seq., against Pfizer Inc. and Does 1 through 10] to challenge, ?…the unjust and illegal conduct of drug maker Pfizer Inc., whose unlawful and deceptive marketing of its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has caused an increase in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including but not limited to HIV/AIDS. Pfizer has engaged in and continues to engage in this conduct despite clear evidence of its illegality and harmful effects.?
?Pfizer?s direct to consumer marketing of Viagra as a drug to enhance sexual performance is primarily aimed at men who don?t necessarily suffer from a clinical diagnosis of erectile dysfunction, and we believe it is not only irresponsible, but also illegal, especially in light of the drug?s known use as part of a ?circuit party cocktail? of drugs that is fueling the spread of STDs and HIV,? said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. ?We are filing this lawsuit today to seek an injunction against Pfizer to force it to stop advertising this prescription medication in the reckless manner it has been doing, and to require Pfizer to undertake an immediate public information/education campaign to both inform members of the general public as to its prior advertising practices, and to educate the public, and in particular, men who have sex with men, about the increased risks of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases associated with using Pfizer?s Viagra.?
?As a physician and public health professional who has conducted extensive research on sexual risk behavior and the risk for getting or spreading sexually transmitted diseases and HIV in persons who use Viagra, I am deeply troubled by what I consider to be the continued misleading and potentially ‘off-label’ direct-to-consumer marketing practices of Pfizer for this drug,? added Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH, Director, STD Prevention and Control Services, San Francisco Department of Public Health. ?Several of our studies and those I reviewed for my research showed strong independent associations between the use of Viagra and increased sexual risk behavior, including an increased risk for diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV infection. Pfizer?s marketing may go beyond the FDA-approved indications for the drug when they ask, ?Want to improve your sex life???as its current ad campaign does?and state that the drug is appropriate for, ?mild? erectile dysfunction, and suitable for men with ?all degrees of ED, even if it only happens once in a while.? The promotion of Viagra for what some have called ‘recreational use’ must be stopped. Why the FDA has not acted on this is unclear to me.?