Reply #27: Re:Viagra deaths How many 18 year old men have died after taking Viagra? [View All]

[DemBones DemBones]

The woman who died after taking RU-486 last year was 18, and that's mighty young to die.

Viagra is primarily taken by older men who are more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes so 130 deaths is more in line with acceptable risks for the targeted population. And that was 130 deaths out of how many thousands of men taking Viagra? A comparison of the % mortality of Viagra users and % mortality of RU-486 users would be useful. Does the Salon article give that? (Sorry, I don't click on Salon links as they inevitably turn out to be subscription-only and thus a waste of my time.)

RU-486 is taken by younger patients, and female patients, who have a longer life expectancy than men as well, so deaths in those patients should raise more alarm bells than deaths in older men. That doesn't mean a ban is appropriate, but the increased warnings are, just as tampons had warnings about toxic shock syndrome added to the packaging twenty years ago. The Viagra deaths have also been well-publicized and I'd think there'd be mention of the risk on that packaging as well.

Yes, there are people who want to ban abortion. But notifying women of the potential risks of abortion methods -- some methods are safer than others, and that's true even if you don't include RU-486 in the comparison -- is a good thing. Protecting women's health is one reason abortion was legalized in the first place.

If you don't care about safety, why not just try the old coat hanger method? Maybe make it legal for people to advertise their services as alternative abortion practitioners, providing cheaper but more dangerous abortions? After all, the government is meddling in our private lives by suggesting a drug might be dangerous.

Sheesh.