David and Helen Wang and their company South Auckland Traditional Chinese Medical have been fined a total $45,000 by a district court judge.

They pleaded guilty to various charges after it was discovered the ‘natural Viagra’ the company was selling contained an undeclared prescription medicine.

The demand of sex drug is surpassing other medications on the companys ‘Spirit of Adventure cruises with baby boomers, despite old age still wishing to live to the fullest.

Despite the exotic places and fantastic entertainment, our customers still want to live life to the full, Telegraph quoted a spokesman for the company that organises holidays for the over fifties, as saying.

The medical staff on the ship, taking the guests all over the world carries a full medicine cabinet to cope with any major or minor illness that might occur on board.

The medics found that Viagra prescriptions topped other drugs as the holidayers enjoyed belated second honeymoons or holiday romances.

I approve of this. A lot of people who go on cruises have been widowed and are looking for potential partners, said Dr William Alexander, a retired consultant physician who has published studies on erectile dysfunction.

If they cant manage it they can get depressed and find it difficult to socialise. This can revolutionise an elderly persons life and get them out and about and relive their youth, he added.

The ship capable of carrying 352 guests also has a spa, fitness equipment, a library including lectures from expert guest speakers. (ANI)

Viagra (sildenafil) by Pfizer and Levitra (vardenafil) by Bayer Pharmaceutical are Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors which are the first choice therapy in the treatment of erection dysfunction.

“Specifically, use of vardenafil (Levitra) for 6 months does not impair sperm concentration, total sperm count per ejaculate, or sperm morphology and motility. Levels of reproductive hormones were also unaffected,” the researchers write in their report.

They conclude “This study demonstrated that vardenafil had no adverse effects on sperm concentration, compared with sildenafil (Viagra) and placebo, when administered daily at the maximum recommended dose for 6 months.”

By Sue Mueller

One hundred Waikato couples were included in the world-first study by husband-and-wife team John and Helen Conaglen, who researched whether women preferred their partner to use Viagra or its main rival, Cialis, for erectile dysfunction.

It showed fewer than one in five women preferred the man to use the shorter-lived Viagra with the rest, almost 80 per cent, choosing Cialis the effect of which can last at least 36 hours.

Dr John Conaglen, an associate professor at the Waikato Clinical School of Medicine, said this showed women favoured having sex “when it pleases you as a couple, as opposed to on-demand”.

“This is a ground-breaking study because no-one’s ever asked women what their views were on this before,” he said.

“All other research has been devoted to whether the male has a normal erection or not, disregarding the impact on the female.

“The effects were much greater than we expected.

“They showed very strong preference towards Cialis.”

Published on Wednesday, the $300,000 study which took almost two years, would help people better understand what happened when erection difficulties became a part of their lives and how treatment would affect the woman in the relationship.

The 100 heterosexual, long-term couples who volunteered for the research after an appeal in the Waikato Times in 2005 were aged between 40 and 80.

Dr Conaglen said the couples were relatively naive about drug treatment for erectile dysfunction “in other words they weren’t on one or the other (drug)”.

His wife, psychologist Dr Helen Conaglen who conducted most of the research said women were affected in many ways by a partner who had erection problems.

Most missed the closeness within their relationship when there was little sexual activity because of the man’s problems. 

“Many of the women felt that their partner’s use of these medications had revived many aspects of their relationship, restoring togetherness and closeness that had been lost with the erection problems they had been having before the study,” she said. The research also challenged previously held stereotypes, such as the older population preferring shortacting drugs.

“We found, in fact, that older people had the same preferences as the younger participants in the study the majority preferred Cialis.”

The paper was published online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

A grant big enough to cover the study work was paid for by Eli Lilly, which makes Cialis, but Dr Conaglen said the grant did not affect the credibility of the research.

Viagra has been on the market longer, but Cialis has eaten into its market share.

The Conaglens, who were not participants in the study, recently presented the research at international conferences in the US and Europe, and will do so again at the Australasian Multidisciplinary Sexual Dysfunction Conference next month.

 By NATALIE AKOORIE - Waikato Times

David Glenn, a consultant gynaecologist at Queen’s University Belfast took sperm samples from 57 men and mixed them in a Viagra solution - the equivalent to that found in the blood of a man who had taken a single 100-milligram tablet.

The drug made sperm more active than untreated sperm but also it damaged it in a way that means it would be highly unlikely to fertilise a female egg. Repeating the experiment on animls confirmed this - sperm from mice that had been given Viagra produced 40% fewer embryos than those on control pills.

‘There are two main concerns raised by these findings,’ Glenn told The Observer. ‘First, Viagra has become a widely used recreational drug. It is mixed with cocaine, for example, and is sold in clubs. Our work leaves open the possibility that there could be a cumulative effect from taking Viagra, however, which could pose serious fertility problems in later life.’

The second concern is that Viagra is regularly used by IVF clinics. Glenn said: ‘I think it is worrying that some IVF clinics are using Viagra in order to boost fertility results. Couples that go there for treatment are, by definition, already having problems getting pregnant. Giving male partners something that could make the problem worse is scarcely the right approach.’

Independent research by The Observer confirmed that several British IVF clinics did use Viagra to men. However, reported The Observer, ‘others, such as the clinic at University College Hospital in London, said they did not (use the drug) because it had been found that Viagra could damage sperm’.

The famously acerbic leader of American Idol in the States and X-Factor (the talent show, not the team of mutant superheroes) in the United Kingdom, turned down a deal worth nearly $2 million to be the man in the ads for erectile dysfunction medication, according to Britain’s version of Glamour magazine. The talent judge termed the offer “fucking insulting.”

Baseball is America’s past time right? Well what could be more American than performance enhancements? Half of America is taking anti-depressants, aren’t those performance enhancing supplements as well? And then of course we get to the real crux of what sticks in my craw. Viagra is a performance enhancement drug!

If Barry Bonds is cheating does that mean I am too? Do I get an asterisk by my records? Would anyone out there say I was cheating just because my use of Viagra allowed me to pleasure all those women from 1996-now? (As an aside while The Hef is not one to kiss and tell, Mr. Bond’s 755 homers pales in comparison to the numbers put up by yours truly — if vaginas were homeruns of course.)

Just because your body won’t perform the way it used to, does that mean you are out of the game? Heck, no. Should the race always go to the fleetest of foot, or the jumble to the quick witted?

I say take whatever supplements you need; Prozac, Rogaine, Viagra, Whiskey, Roofies, whatever. Be free, be groovy, be whatever you want to be.

Until next time, stay sexy America.

What kind of spending the king was referring to is unclear. Does he favor Thailand reducing poverty? Upgrading infrastructure? Upping military expenditures? All of the above?

A better question may be whether the baht is becoming overvalued and crimping the competitiveness of Asia’s ninth- biggest economy.

That occurred to me last week when I was stranded along with a few dozen other travelers on a bus on the tarmac of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Another bus was blocking the staircase to our aircraft. Our 40-minute wait turned into an animated grousing session — not about the delay or the heat, but the baht.

“It’s as if someone gave the baht a bit of Viagra since I was last here,” says Peter McGilvery, 46, who visits Thailand annually from his home in Christchurch, New Zealand. “It’s a bit painful.”

Crimping Growth

Thailand is a tourism mecca on account of its breathtaking beauty, welcoming culture and affordability. It’s still a reasonably priced place, though the baht’s gains might imperil Thailand’s appeal and economic growth. Such concerns explain why central bank Governor Tarisa Watanagase refuses to lift controls on foreign capital entering the country.

Currency speculators are betting on even bigger gains in the baht following a Dec. 23 election. Investors widely expect that the central bank will soon lift the controls imposed in late 2006. Bank of America Corp. says the baht may appreciate 8.5 percent by the end of 2008.

Letting the baht rise is a nod to the reality that, like it or not, Asian currencies are in demand. For all Thailand’s efforts to cap the baht, the most likely direction for Asian exchange rates and equities is up.

“Because the Bank of Thailand has limited market power relative to other central banks, its currency is a canary in the coal mine for what other currencies should do,” says Mark Matthews, Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific equity strategy at Merrill Lynch & Co.

Living With Baht

Thailand is indeed on the front lines of a phenomenon new to Asia: living with stronger currencies.

While Matthews doubts the baht is overvalued, others are puzzled by the currency’s rally. “The Thai baht is a very strange beast and defies logic and fundamentals,” says Benjamin Pedley, an investment strategist at LGT Group in Singapore.

Viagra

Economist Mikka Pineda of Roubini Global Economics LLC in New York, calls it the “baht conundrum.” Why it is that even with so-so growth (estimated to be 4.5 percent this year), lower interest rates and political uncertainties, the baht is Asia’s best performer versus the dollar this year?

In a recent report, Pineda concluded the baht’s strength reflects the unique combination of an improving trade balance, foreign demand for Thai stocks and restrictions on capital outflows.

The election alone would seem to inject doubt into the market. Since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a September 2006 coup, investors have been at a loss to understand the plans of the generals overseeing the economy. They grabbed power pledging to create a “self-sufficiency economy,” without ever explaining what that is.

Viagra Effect

The election campaign has even found another use for Viagra — one beyond tourist McGilvery’s observations about the baht. One candidate has been accused of trying to buy votes by handing out the erectile-dysfunction drug. Headlines containing “Viagra” are omnipresent in this nation of 65 million.

Whatever forces are boosting the baht, though, they’re not about to go away. The phenomenon is more of a blessing than a curse for Thailand for three reasons.

One, it’s helping to offset the inflationary effects of rising oil prices. Two, it’s a sign of confidence both in Thailand’s outlook and asset markets. Rising stocks and falling bond yields are nothing to complain about in a nation still struggling to raise per capita income above $8,600 as measured in purchasing-power parity terms.

Keeping Pace

Three, it will force Thailand to keep pace with rival emerging economies. It ranked 28th in the World Economic Forum’s 2007-2008 Global Competitiveness Index, behind Estonia, Chile and Malaysia. For all its promise, Thailand still needs to figure out how to compete with China and India on a cost basis and Japan, Singapore and South Korea technologically.

Manufacturing has long been the fuel driving Thai growth, though services increasingly account for rising employment and prosperity. The baht’s rise also serves as a reminder that Thailand needs to nurture entrepreneurship to create more good- paying jobs.

Asia really has no choice here; it will just have to live with stronger currencies. When even kings are talking about them, you know something is up in global markets.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: William Pesek

“Call me an old Scrooge, but I’d had it with real Christmas trees,” said Maureen, from Barry.

“All right, they smell nice, but trying to keep one alive was like something out of Challenge Anneka. And I’d be vacuuming up the damn needles until spring.

“I’d had enough. I told Ray we should get a fake tree instead. But Ray wasn’t keen. He skulked off to the pub to meet his mate for a moan. At 11pm, he stumbled in, hiccupping, and said: ‘We can’t get an artificial tree. It’s just not the same. But I’ve had an idea. I’m going to feed it Viagra to stop it drooping. He’d figured if it can work on men…”

buy Viagra

Maureen, 47, admitted she just “rolled her eyes” and let her cheeky hubby go ahead with his Christmas pill plan.

Ray, a 45-year-old hypnotherapist, said: “I like real Christmas trees, but Maureen was fed up with them because they make such a mess and we needed a way to stiffen up the needles.

“My friend came up with the idea to use one of his Viagra pills, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

The next day, Ray and Maureen trundled off to the garden centre.

“I asked for a tree with roots, so it would absorb the Viagra more easily” said Ray.

The couple settled on a 5ft specimen, took it home and covered it with red tinsel and shiny baubles.

Then that night, Ray pulled a little diamond-shaped blue tablet out of his pocket, crushed it and sprinkled it over the tree.

To the couple’s amazement, their Christmas tree was still standing tall and proud more than three weeks after it had gone up.

Ray and Maureen still use viagra on their tree every year.