| A new ad campaign asking pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to end its promotion of Viagra as a sexual-enhancement drug will launch in New York Wednesday and Los Angeles next week. The print campaign by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which will appear in The Village Voice and gay newspapers The New York Blade and L.A.'s Frontiers, also warns gay men of the danger of using Viagra with crystal meth.
"We call on Pfizer to exercise responsibility by discontinuing marketing to men with mild erectile dysfunction, and by initiating an educational campaign on the dangers of Viagra and meth targeting men who have sex with men," the ad copy reads. Headlined "Viagra/Meth Alert!" the ad also features an image of a doctor's prescription with the text "Viagra + Crystal Meth = Rx for HIV infection."
"Pfizer's direct-to-consumer marketing of Viagra as a drug to enhance sexual performance aimed at men who don't necessarily suffer from erectile dysfunction is irresponsible, especially in light of the drug's known use as part of a 'circuit party cocktail' that is fueling the spread of STDs and HIV," said Michael Weinstein, president of the L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement.
"By marketing Viagra to men with 'mild' erectile dysfunction, for men with 'all degrees of ED, even if it only happens once in a while' or as a way to 'improve your sex life' ... Pfizer is selling the drug as a way to enhance sexual experience, not as a treatment for an illness. We urge Pfizer to not only end this dangerous marketing tactic, but also to fund a national educational campaign on the dangers of Viagra and crystal meth in order to mitigate the negative impact its advertising continues to have." | 
