• It's expensive, and that's almost an understatement.  One 50 mg tablet costs 560 pesos, which is equivalent to $10.00.  I don't know about you guys, but the only other drugs I've encountered which are more expensive are strong antibiotics.
• Men afflicted with Erectile Dysfunction--especially Filipino men--are much too shy to tell their doctors about their problem.  It's a cultural thing.  They would rather self-medicate and risk the side-effects than tell anyone and suffer potential embarrassment.
• Even the people who don't really need Viagra want to avail of it for sexual enhancement.
• The incidence of sexual impotence is increasing because predisposing factors such as Hypertension and Diabetes mellitus are also on the rise.  It is estimated that by 2020, 185 million men in Asia alone will have Erectile Dysfunction.  

   Okay, so drug counterfeiting is a legitimate problem.  It robs patients and their families of both health and income.  It should be suppressed as much as possible, not just for the sake of lost revenue for drug companies, but also for the trusting consumers whose lives are on the line.

   However, I don't think that Viagra should represent the forefront of this campaign against counterfeiting.   It is still mostly just a lifestyle drug; hardly as important as the vaccines and the antibiotics that are also being bastardized in the market.   I found it disturbing that despite such emergent issues as burgeoning epidemics, worsening health-care and widespread poverty (which admittedly were not discussed in that forum),  the host (an MD) seriously called Erectile Dysfunction "The Scourge of the Century".    Even more disturbing was the fact that everyone actually nodded, laughed, and generally agreed.  I would think that we have more important things to worry about than a threat to good sex.  I guess the MD's there had no choice, as they were supposed to be representing the drug company's interests, but still...

   Perhaps if the audience had been composed of a different cross-section of society, the reaction would have been different.  But then, the MD might never have dared call ED the "Scourge of the Century" in the first place.

   

Exercise Tips for the Oversized (From Time)

1.  Short and Frequent
   Aim to exercise often, even two or three times a day, but keep the sessions short and sweet (10 to 15 minutes is plenty).  If it hurts, stop, and if you dread your workout, change it.  The pursuit of fitness should be a pleasure, not a punishment. 2.  Take care of your skin.
   One of the most troublesome problems large exercisers face is chafing, especially of the thighs.  Minimize the problem by wearing form-fitting clothes, preferably a synthetic fabric that whisks away sweat.  When it's time to hit the showers, use antibacterial soap and dry all body folds well.
3.  Be kind to your joints.
   Exercise can qualify as cardiovascular without giving your joints a pounding.  Take a gym spin on the recumbent bike, pump and elliptical trainer or enrol in a water-aerobics class.  Concentrate on strengthening upper-leg muscles, especially the quadriceps (the muscles on the front of the thigh).  That will, in turn, ease the strain on knees.
4.  Stretch Carefully.
   Limbering up is important for everyone, but overweight exercisers should staw away from stretches that strain the lower back, including that classic from gym class, the toe-touching drill.
5.  Mind your footwear.
   Sturdy running shoes usually offer the best support, even if you don't plan to run.  Be sure your shoes are roomy, an dkeep your toenails cut short.  Increased pressure on feet stuffed into sneakers that are too snug can lead to nagging problems with both nails and toes.

• Fond of ghost stories and scary movies?
  
• Addicted to horror trains and mazes that disappoint you every time?
  
• Like to drive by dark alleys with towering balete trees and reputed haunted houses during unholy hours, in the hopes that you'll see a white lady?
  
• Do you actually want to open your third eye?

   If you answered yes to all of the above questions, you must have serious thrill issues.  Most of the people I know who can say "I see...dead people" deplore their gift.  But I know one person who would love to have a close encounter of the third kind with anything paranormal.   That's unusual; I love ghost stories too, but put me face-to-face with a real apparition and I'd probably faint.  On the other hand, Ian (not my Tomato) would probably thrust a hand out to the befuddled ghost and introduce himself.   

      Hi again!  Find out exactly why those weird-sounding Filipino street foods merit a warning of 'eat at your own risk':

• Staphylococcus aureus (Call me Staph for short)
     Hi.  You can find me on your airways, skin, and superficial wounds.  If food is left at room temperature for several hours, I quickly multiply and produce a toxin.  Cooking kills me but not my toxin (LOL), which is capable of producing explosive loose watery diarrhea and vomiting after 2-6 hours.  Hear about those children's parties where most of the children got sick that very night?  A lot of those incidents were my work, thank you very much.  Good personal hygiene while preparing food and refrigeration of foods:  these two practices are the bane of existence, as I won't be able to proliferate.But, there's always someone out there who's just careless enough...
• Salmonella (Hi.  I like my name as it is.  It's so pretty, don't you think?  Why don't you name your daughter after me?)  
     There are lots of us in the intestines of birds, reptiles, and mammals.  You hear that? Intestines (Just think about that isaw or IUD that you had for merienda today.  Maybe I'm swimming around in your gut right now!).  I can also be found in raw eggs, and in water tainted with feces.  I can cause an acute form of gastroentritis (vomiting and loose watery diarrhea again, my two inseparable friends).  However, I am more famous for causing the dreaded typhoid fever which manifests with prolonged fever, diarrhea/constipation, and abdominal pain, which can keep you in the hospital for weeks.  Thank you, thank you, no applause is needed.
• Escherichia coli (Call me E. coli for short.  That's pronounced Ee-Kolay)
     Even though I'm found in your intestines too, I can also be found in the intestines of other animals such as cattle.  Thus, I'm often transmitted by water tainted with feces.  I cause a severe, bloody, sometimes mucoid (you know that disgusting fluid that drips from your nose when you have a cold) diarrhea with painful abdominal cramps which can rapidly become much worse, so if you get these symptoms, you better get yourself to a hospital quick!
• Vibrio cholera (Does my second name ring a bell to you?  I'm very popular in Africa.)
     I can be borne on anything you put inside your mouth--food or water, again if it it tainted with feces.  I've caused so many outbreaks since ancient times that I've killed more people than some wars.  The symptoms of extremely profuse watery diarrhea can start within one hour and can kill within three hours if not treated, especially little children, as my toxin can literally drain all the fluids from their bodies.
• Shigella (I'm another one with an adorable name)
     I'm most commonly found on improperly handled salads (potato, chicken, seafood), raw vegetables, milk and other dairy products, and meat products especially poulty.  However, I can also be borne through feces-tainted water.  The diarrhea I produce is usually blood-tinged, or termed dysenteric.
• Bacillus cereus (I love Filipinos and Chinese!)
     I can survive cooking as a heat-resistant spore and then proliferate when the storage temperature is incorrect.  I love starchy food such as rice, macaroni, and potato dishes (especially fried rice! Yum!).  Thus, if you don't want any brush with me, make sure you serve or reheat your foods to a very high temperature!

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