[Opinion] Since Advent of Viagra

Computer, watch, democracy, atheism, contraceptives, printing, glasses, classical music, tap water and sewage, atomic bomb... A couple of years ago, an American writer sent a question over the Internet to numerous people, "What is the greatest invention of the human race for the past 2,000 years?" The items mentioned above were the answers of 100 renowned scholars including Nobel Prize winners. If we asked the same question now, Viagra would occupy a place on the list, a medicine that a well-known medical journal described as the greatest invention ever since the atomic bomb.

▷ When the reproductive organ of a male animal erects, that of a whale enlarges up to 3m, horse, 1m, elephant 1.5m, cow 90cm and a human being 15cm (that of Korean men is 12.5cm) on average. Considering the size of the whole body, that of the human race is not small. But human creatures, unlike the other primates, have no bone in their reproductive genitals. It is a critical weakness for the human males. This is the source of the problem harassing quite a number of men around the world—inability to have erection. Erection of the male genital is made by the flow of blood running through it. Viagra enhances the volume of blood flow in the penis and makes the vigor flow like the water off Niagara Fall. No wonder men get attracted to it. Jumping on the band wagon, a clinical experiment is being conducted for a wonder pill for the suffering women, which is called "Pink Viagra."

▷ Last year, a movie critic in London compared Nicole Kidman to theatrical Viagra. This episode shows how deeply the medicine, which had its commercial debut in 1998, has become rooted in our lives. A couple of days ago, the first son of Saddam Hussein, Uday, was killed by the US forces. In his room, Viagra was discovered. Picking up on the episode, Viagra manufacturer Pfizer has come up with a new ad. Pfizer raked in $1.735 billion last year alone with this medicine.

▷ The "strong" Viagra is facing a tough challenge down the road—Cialis and Levitra. Viagra lasts for four hours, while Cialis boasts of its long-lasting effect, or 36 hours. In addition, Livitra, which shows its effect just in 15 minutes after taking it, will also make inroads into our domestic market soon. It is not to blame for men in need of help to have a wider range of choices. It is, however, disgusting for healthy men to look for the drugs. Men, keep this old Korean saying in mind: "A good medicine is no longer good when one abuses it; and a good medicine helps no one when the person does not know anything about it."

By Song Moon-hong, editorialist