By 2020, a total of 185 million men in Asia alone will be suffering from erectile dysfunction or impotence, according to a medical expert, citing a World Health Organization (WHO) study completed this year.“We better prepare ourselves for something worse,” warned Dr. Jaime Songco, a urologist from the Makati Medical Center. “It may be the scourge of the century, I don’t know,” he said yesterday during a press conference on Viagra and erectile dysfunction. Songco said the problem loomed not far from the Philippines, since Southeast Asia has the most number of impotent men (28.1 percent) worldwide, based on the WHO study.There were more impotent males in this region compared with Northern and Southern Europe (13.3 and 12.9 percent, respectively) and Central and Southern America (13.7 percent). East Asia was second with 27.1 percent while non-European countries like those in Africa came third with 20.6 percent, according to the WHO. Around 130 million men aged 40 and above were currently having problems with erection, the drug’s manufacturer Pfizer said in a statement. Songco said they had no data on the actual number of Filipino men suffering from erectile dysfunction. Health experts said there could be more impotent males than were actually reported because they preferred to remain in hiding. To encourage these men to come out, Pfizer launched an “e-card” that would enable them to purchase said drug at a leading drugstore by simply presenting the card. They need not say a word. Male impotence has become a growing problem because of diabetes and hypertension, and even smoking and substance abuse, according to Songco. “It’s really connected with lifestyle,” he explained. “Diabetes is on the loose and hypertension is on the rise.”These diseases stiffen the arteries, preventing the rush of blood to the penis which is needed to have an erection.
About 50 percent of men who have diabetes and 30 percent of males with high blood pressure suffer from erectile dysfunction, Pfizer said in a statement.The basic solution to the impotence problem is a drastic change in the male lifestyle, according to Songco.
Men would have to give up smoking, watch their weight and cholesterol level and limit their alcohol intake-the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Instead, they would have to observe proper diet and regular exercise.The immensely popular medication could also provide answers to those already suffering from erectile dysfunction, Pfizer said.In the press conference, Dr. Marcelo Imasa, dean of the College of Pharmacy of Adamson University, said the drug had treated more than 23 million impotent men. It was also approved by regulatory bodies in 119 countries, he said.But because the medicine remains relatively expensive at P560 per 50-mg tablet, counterfeit versions abound. Pfizer’s woes with fake products reflect a global problem. According to the WHO, between 6 and 10 percent of all medicines in the world market, are reportedly counterfeit, equivalent to sales of more than $36 billion a year.
If you want to get updates on the articles in this site, please subscribe to my RSS feed. Thank you for visiting!
Tags: erectile dysfunction,
impotence,
impotent men,
male impotence,
Nursing
RELATED ARTICLES YOU SHOULD ALSO READ
[...] by smoking. The most serious is lung cancer. Others include (based on separate studies): Erectile Dysfunction/Impotence, some sleep problems, and many more. They will be discussed in my future articles so stay [...]