Klausner drops push to increase penalties for illegal Viagra use

"Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of the San Francisco health department's STD prevention section, filed a citizen petition on August 5, 2004 with the Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to reclassify the medications, including Pfizer's Viagra, ISOC Inc.'s Cialis, and GlaxoSmithKline's Levitra, as Schedule III controlled substances. Under such classification, anyone in possession of the drugs could face local or state prosecution, and dealers of the substances, if caught, could be given up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for a first offense." [Bay Area Reporter]

FDA Was Told of Viagra-Blindness Link Months Ago

"More than 13 months before a scientific journal reported that Viagra had been linked to a rare form of blindness in some men, a Food and Drug Administration safety officer made the same observation from monitoring adverse event reports and told her supervisors that doctors and patients should be warned of the findings." [Washington Post]

Impotence Drugs Under Attack

"CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports that two reasons fueled Public Citizen's FDA request. First, studies show that people don't pay much attention to the type of warning that was added in July. They do pay attention to a Black Box warning, which is what Public Citizen is pushing for.

"Second, Attkisson adds, there's new information. Pfizer had claimed men weren't more likely to go blind if they take Viagra. But Public Citizen says in men with similar risk factors, Viagra users are much more likely to suffer a type of eye stroke called 'NAION.' And it's not just a question of eye stroke but other types of blindness." [CBS News]

Feds Eye Viagra-Blindness Reports

"Federal health investigators are looking into reports that some men who used Viagra may have suffered a new and very serious side effect -- blindness.

Twenty-three million men worldwide have used Viagra. A very small number of them are going blind after taking normal doses" [CBS News]

Consumer Advocacy Group Petitions for Blindness Warning on Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis

"A small number of patients taking prescription drugs to treat impotence have developed non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a disease that causes a loss of vision that typically cannot be restored. NAION is one of the most common causes of abrupt vision loss in older individuals." [NewsInferno.com]

Impotence drug such as Viagra may cause Vision Loss

"Impotence drugs such as Viagra use is linked to development of vision disorders. It is found that 19% of people with vision disorders have used Viagra medicines. It is found that it contains three phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors which is found to cause risk of blindness." [MedIndia.com]

FDA Asked to Require ED-Blindness Label

"A prominent consumer advocacy group is calling for the government to add the most serious of warnings to the labels of Viagra and other impotence drugs, noting that some users have gone blind." [Herald News Daily]