AIDS Group to Sue Pfizer over Viagra Ads

AIDS Group to Sue Pfizer over Viagra Ads

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) on Monday filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. for allegedly promoting recreational use of its erectile dysfunction (ED) drug Viagra. The nonprofit treatment organization's suit claims Pfizer's actions have led to risky behavior by men and an increase in HIV and other STDs.

AHF cites Pfizer's Viagra Web site, which asks readers, "Want to improve your sex life?" and says the drug can help men who have difficulties attaining an erection "once in a while." The foundation's legal arguments point to Viagra's marketing materials from recent years, including an ad that ran around the 2006 Super Bowl that urged men to "Be this Sunday's MVP" and talk to their doctors about Viagra.

Such promotions make Viagra sound like a "party drug," said AHF President Michael Weinstein. "The message they are sending out is that any and every male should take it," he said. In 2004, after a complaint from the Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer pulled a TV commercial in which a man sprouted devilish horns. The ad's suggestion that Viagra could restore a man to the "wild thing" of his younger days was an unproven claim, FDA said.

Studies have documented recreational Viagra use among men who have sex with men, sometimes to alleviate the erection-inhibiting effects of alcohol and drugs like crystal meth, AHF noted.

The lawsuit asks that Pfizer be prohibited from running similar ads and ordered to fund awareness ads about STD risks and Viagra. It also requests that Pfizer use profits gained from the ads to pay AHF's costs for treating HIV and other STDs linked to Viagra use.

Pfizer spokesperson Shreya Prudlo said the company "has always been committed to safe and appropriate use of Viagra," and its label and promotions clearly state: "Viagra does not protect against [STDs], including HIV."
Reuters (01.22.07):: Lisa Richwine

We are providing the above information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases does not constitute endorsement. The above summaries were prepared without conducting any additional research or investigation into the facts and statements made in the articles being summarized, and therefore readers are expressly cautioned against relying on the validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summaries. This CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on MMWR articles, fact sheets and announcements.

Most people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before manifesting AIDS. During that period, infected people will have few, if any, symptoms yet they can transmit the virus.
The percentage of women with AIDS has increased steadily, and the percentage of people infected heterosexually has also increased, surpassing the percentage infected through injecting drug use.
During 2001, there were 35575 newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates now that 40,000 new cases of HIV transmission occur every year.
Of the people infected with the virus of AIDS in the USA in the year 2001, 42% were whites, 37% blacks, 20% Hispanics and <1% Asians and Pacific Islanders and <1% American Indians and Alaska Natives.
During the 1990s, the HIV epidemic shifted steadily toward a growing proportion of AIDS cases in blacks and Hispanics and in women.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the cause of AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). The presence of HIV in the body can be detected in several ways. The most common is the HIV-ELISA Antibodies test.

The HIV-ELISA looks for the body response to the virus manifested by the presence in your blood of Antibodies to HIV proteins. Antibodies are special proteins that our Immune System produce in response to the presence of HIV.

The test performed on your sample actually consists of two tests: a Screening test and a Confirmatory test. The screening test procedure is called an ELISA—Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay or an EIA (Enzyme Immunosorbent Assay). The confirmatory test is used in the event your HIV-ELISA is positive and/or equivocal and is the procedure used is the Western Blot Assay (WB)

The screening and confirmatory tests are usually done using small samples of blood. If a sample of blood tests positive repeatedly in the screening test, it will be confirmed through the Western Blot test. People will be informed that they are infected with HIV only after both the screening and confirmatory tests have shown a positive (reactive) result.

Positive HIV antibody tests results are over 99% accurate when confirmed. Negative HIV antibody tests are over 99% accurate if it has been at least six months after a contact with a potentially HIV-infected partner. False negatives or false positives occur rarely.

Antibodies to HIV can be detected in the blood, in the urine or in the saliva. People produce antibodies with different speeds and therefore the time interval between infection and the development of antibodies to HIV can go from four weeks to six months from the exposure date or SDC ( Suspected Date of Contact). The appearance of antibodies in a blood or urine sample of a person which was known to be negative to HIV is called Seroconversion.

The HIV Elisa results are usually available in one or two business days.

THE WINDOW PERIOD

The time period between a person’s contact with the virus (infection) and when HIV antibodies become detectable in blood or other fluids is called the "window period". Most people will develop antibodies detectable within 4-6 weeks after infection with HIV. Some people may take longer; but nearly all (99%) will have antibodies by 6 months following infection. Therefore, the test may not be accurate if a person gets tested too soon after a potential exposure. People waiting six months from the time of the exposure before testing will have a 99% accurate test result. Until now there have been no studies showing antibodies present in people with longer than six months exposure to HIV.

STDWeB provides only health screening services. Tests are provided only for personal information and/or risk identification purposes. STDWeB does not diagnose or treat medical conditions. STDWeB screenings do not take the place of a physician care. Transactions with STDWeB are confidential and will not be shared with third parties. Tests with "positive" or "indeterminate" result may require confirmatory testing and may involve additional charges.