Should the United States Give Out Free Viagra as Part of the ObamaCare Health Plan?

The Argentinian government is now handing out its own, state-produced version of sildenafil, more commonly known by its trade name Viagra.

The country’s Ministry of Health is distributing 200,000 doses free of charge in the province of Santa Fe, and plans to eventually distribute the drug free of charge in the rest of the country, too. The producer of the drug is LIFSE, a state-owned pharmaceutical company.

LIFSE is also working on production of a version of the drug in syrup form for the treatment of children with a condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The province of Santa Fe has a population of around 3 million, with a median age of 30. If you assume that approximately half of Santa Fe’s population is male, and that half of those are over age 30, that’s still 200,000 doses for 750,000 adult males, so there probably won’t be enough for every man who wants it, at least in this phase of the free distribution.

Why Is Argentina Doing This?

Quite naturally, many people wonder why the Argentinian government would undertake such a giveaway. The government has stated that its goal is two-fold: to curb misuse of erectile dysfunction drugs and to raise awareness of the drug’s uses in treating other diseases like pulmonary arterial hypertension. Sildenafil treats pulmonary arterial hypertension by relaxing arterial walls, reducing the workload of the heart’s right ventricle.

Production of the drug by a state pharmaceutical manufacturing company is also a point of pride for the Argentinian government. Guillermo Cleti, a LIFSE director, said, “The most famous medication in the world for improving the quality of life — even though no-one is going to lose their life over it — is the first to be made by the state in Argentina. It’s not only to attend to erectile dysfunction in men who need it, but also to avoid the abuse or bad use of the drug and to warn the population about its correct use.”

Would Such a Program Work in the United States?

It is unclear how free drugs for erectile dysfunction are supposed to curb misuse, or whether that is a problem in Argentina. In the US, recreational use of erectile dysfunction medications (use that is not prescribed by a physician for treatment of ED) has been associated with increased “risk behaviors” related to sex, along with increased risk of sexually transmitted infection and higher rates of use of other illicit drugs.

Argentina has had somewhat of a “liberal social wave” sweep through society in recent years, with gay marriage legalized in 2010. However, it was only in 2002 that the Argentinian Congress reversed a decade-long ban on the use and sale of contraceptives, and attitudes are slow to change among many in the predominantly Catholic population. Perhaps the free Viagra distribution signals that Argentina’s government is becoming more open to modern views on sexuality.

Chances are, a massive free Viagra distribution in the US would have very different motivations and reactions than in Argentina. Cost, rather than cultural acceptance, is a big hurdle involved in accessing Viagra in the US, and a free giveaway might only be a brief blip on the US cultural radar, even though it would probably be massively popular.

Trying Viagra at Low Cost

Some doctors in the US offer free samples of Viagra, as well as coupons, and there are other options for men in the US who want to try Viagra at a reasonable price. At eDrugstore.com, we dispense Viagra at competitive prices so that men can use the drug safely and avoid using rogue online “pharmacies” that often sell counterfeit Viagra. eDrugstore.com also maintains the highest commitment to customer privacy online security, and overall customer service.

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