Viagra: Sex Enhancers Misuse Among Young Men

On the 18th of December 2025, a group of three young men walked into a community pharmacy. They looked confident, joked loudly, and seemed in a hurry. One asked for Viagra 100 mg, another requested Viagra 50 mg, while the third pointed at the counter display and added Vigor chocolate, along with two different “herbal” sex enhancers promising power, endurance, and confidence.

They appeared to be in their early twenties.

There was no medical complaint. No prescription. No sign of illness. Just laughter, peer pressure, and one common motivation: performance. When asked if they had used any of these products before, one laughed and said, “It’s just to impress.”

That sentence has become disturbingly common.

Across pharmacies, markets, and online stores, young men are increasingly turning to sex enhancers. This is not because they cannot perform, but because they believe they must perform better, longer, and without failure. In a culture that equates masculinity with endurance, even normal sexual anxiety now feels like a defect that must be medicated.

What Are Sex Enhancers, Really?

Sex enhancers broadly fall into two categories:

1. Prescription medicines such as Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil), and Levitra (vardenafil).

2. Non-prescription products, often marketed as “herbal,” “natural,” or “energy-boosting,” in the forms of chocolates, drinks, capsules, and powders.

While prescription medicines are regulated and evidence-based, many non-prescription products are unregulated and may secretly contain sildenafil-like chemicals without proper labeling.

How Viagra Works (And What It Does Not Do)

Viagra does not increase sexual desire, masculinity, or confidence.

Medically, it works by:

• Relaxing blood vessels

• Improving blood flow to the penis

• Helping maintain an erection only when sexual stimulation is present.

Without arousal, Viagra does nothing.

It was developed to treat erectile dysfunction caused by medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, nerve damage, or vascular disease. It was not designed to correct fear, performance anxiety, peer pressure, or unrealistic expectations shaped by pornography and social comparison.

Yet many young men use it for exactly those reasons.

For some, it is the fear of not lasting long enough. For others, it is the pressure of a first sexual experience, the need to impress a partner, or the silent competition with friends. The pill becomes reassurance. Over time, reassurance becomes reliance.

Why Young Men Are Using It Anyway

Most young men who misuse sex enhancers do not have erectile dysfunction. Instead, the drivers are:

• Performance anxiety

• Fear of disappointing a partner

• Peer influence

• Porn-driven expectations

• Desire to “last longer”

• First sexual experiences filled with pressure

The problem is often psychological, not physical.

Long-Term Effects and Health Risks

Physical risks

Physically, Viagra can cause headaches, dizziness, flushing, palpitations, and drops in blood pressure. When mixed with alcohol, stimulants, or other substances, these effects are amplified. In rare but serious cases, it can lead to prolonged painful erections requiring emergency care.

The risk is even greater with “herbal” or “natural” enhancers. Many of these products are unregulated and have been found to contain hidden sildenafil-like chemicals in unpredictable doses. Users may believe they are choosing a safer option when in fact they are exposing themselves to unknown compounds that strain the liver, kidneys, and heart.

Unregulated herbal products carry additional risks:

• Unknown doses

• Liver and kidney toxicity

• Inconsistent strength

• Increased risk of overdose

  
  

Psychological consequences

• Dependence on drugs for confidence

• Fear of natural sexual performance

• Escalation to higher doses

• Reduced self-esteem without medication

Does Long-Term Use Cause Angina or Heart Disease?

Viagra does not directly cause angina or coronary artery disease.

However, it can trigger chest pain or heart complications in people who:

• Have undiagnosed heart disease

• Have existing coronary artery disease

• Use it alongside nitrates, alcohol, or stimulants

• Take high or repeated doses unnecessarily

  
  

In such cases, the drug does not create the disease but exposes it. Chest pain after using sex enhancers is never normal and should never be ignored, particularly in young people who assume their age alone protects them.

Who Should Actually Be Using These Drugs?

Sex enhancers are condition-based, not age-based.

They are prescribed for people with medically diagnosed erectile dysfunction due to:

• Diabetes

• Hypertension

• Vascular disease

• Nerve damage

• Post-surgical complications

Most users are older adults, not healthy men in their twenties.

Using these drugs without medical evaluation is misuse, not enhancement.

 

The Bigger Conversation We Are Avoiding

Sexual performance is not just about erections.

It is influenced by:

• Mental health

• Communication

• Emotional safety

• Physical fitness

• Sleep

• Substance use habits

No pill can replace these.

When young men rely on drugs to feel “enough,” the issue is no longer sexual; it is societal and psychological.

As health professionals, pharmacists in particular stand at a critical point of contact. Every request for a sex enhancer is an opportunity—not to judge, but to educate; not to shame, but to protect. Silence, in these moments, allows misuse to grow unchecked.

A Final Reflection

Those three young men left the pharmacy smiling, their bags in hand. What they carried, however, was more than medication. They carried expectations they did not create and pressure they did not know how to refuse.

Sex enhancers were created to restore health and not to measure worth.

True confidence is not bought in milligrams.

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