Little blue pill's hidden legacy - a trail of shattered dreams

Viagra, hailed five years ago as a wonder drug to revolutionise the sex lives of millions, creates more problems than it solves, says a leading specialist.

Dr Abraham Morgentaler, an impotence specialist at Harvard Medical School who helped introduce Viagra, said the drug's popularity was waning as it left a trail of broken relationships and shattered expectations in its wake.

His book The Viagra Myth, to be published in November, warns that the drug may be killing passion rather than igniting it.

"Many of my male patients, together with many of their partners, have come to realise that finally achieving a great erection does not solve their relationship problems," said Dr Morgentaler.

"In fact, it's frequently made them worse. As I listened to my patients, I came to see that our culture has taken Viagra and created a legend out of it that goes far beyond its actual pharmacological properties."

Far from liberating men from their impotence, Viagra was forcing them to confront previously hidden emotional problems in their relationships - and many were opting to return to the physical frustration rather than face up to other issues.

Dr Morgentaler said he had seen male patients who had decided to stop taking Viagra because it had increased their partners' sexual expectations.

His book reveals that fewer than half of prescriptions for Viagra were refilled.

Other men were taking Viagra then leaving their partners after realising that although they were able to have sex, they were no longer attracted to their wives or girlfriends.

Dr Morgentaler said: "The Viagra myth has less to do with the effectiveness of the medication than with our cultural propensity to look for the easy fix.

"I have come to see Viagra as providing a window into the psyche of men. People have come to expect that taking a little blue pill could solve their personal and relationship problems, no matter how complex those difficulties are."

Viagra's makers claim nearly two-thirds of the $10 million anti-impotence market in New Zealand.

- INDEPENDENT