Viagra (sildenafil) is very well known as a first line treatment for Erectile Dysfunction (ED). Cialis (tadalafil) debuted a couple of years after the release of Viagra and is considered the second generation of PDE5 inhibitors. I managed to get these sweet, sweet pharmaceutical sample packs in pristine packaging (and with the pharmaceuticals still valid for consumption to boot!) from as a gift from a good friend who prefers to remain anonymous. Thanks R! =D
Viagra (sildenafil citrate)
This is the promotional sample pack of Viagra from Pfizer. This is the product that gave Pfizer a long dominance on the lucrative ED market…and in pharmaceuticals, that is one hell of a long head start. ED used to be called “impotence” but that term had certain connotations that challenged the male ego, so medical professionals dubbed it Erectile Dysfunction (ED) instead, which sat better with XY chromosomes, as it doesn’t have any negative implications and/or
references regarding performance (or rather the lack thereof ;)) and pushes it into the realm of clinical legitimacy. 😉
Viagra debuted as the first clinical treatment approved by the FDA for ED and put the brand name Viagra into a household name and made Pfizer millions from “The Little Blue Pill“.
Viagra is the pharmaceutical blockbuster that every pharmaceutical company wishes they own the patent to. 🙂 The promotional sample pack by Pfizer (it’s meant for medical practitioners to prescribe to qualified patients for free trial use to see how the subject tolerates this particular medication) contains four (4) of the familiar diamond shaped blue Viagra pills in nice packaging and the Pfizer logo on it.
Here’s a closer look at the Pfizer Viagra promotional packs – the four blister packs contains a diamond tablet of Viagra (sildenafil) 50 mg in each solid cocoon. It doesn’t have the “Sample – Not for Sale” stamp, so experience tells me that it either came from the “diverted pharmaceuticals” (a catch-all euphemism) market, or the person who sourced it has really good pharmaceutical industry connections. I’m going for the latter since this generous friend of
mine gets a lot of pharmaceutical products.
The back of the blister pack contains the highly acclaimed VIAGRA brand name in bold blue font. The lettering beneath states the dose and the generic name – “50 mg SILDENAFIL TABLETS“, and the Pfizer logo dominates the rest of the real estate. There is also text that reads PM81401 on the foil. The batch number is located on the bottom and the expiry date (10/2005) is listed. It’s still good. 😉
Each Viagra tablet has VGR 50 imprinted into the front of each diamond shaped pill.
The Viagra tablets are also adorned with the Pfizer pharmaceuticals company logo at the back of the blue pill.
Cialis (tadalafil)
Cialis came in late into the ED game but the Lilly marketing machine worked overtime to make this a bestseller. Cialis was promoted as better alternative to Viagra due to tadalafil being effective for 36 hours after the initial dose…which was a major issue Viagra users experienced – time dependant dosing. The 36-hour Cialis Difference was coined then, and it was publicized as a relatively safe ED medication which works up to36 hours and absorption is not
significantly affected by food. It was a breakthrough! Middle aged men everywhere rejoiced as they realized that they could just innocently pop a Cialis tablet a day without having to carry a Viagra tablet around “just in case” they get some on a date. 😉
The Cialis pharmaceutical promotional pack contains 2 x 20 mg Cialis. I’m not sure what to call the blister pack sealed doses – are they pills? Tablets? Capsules? It looks like…a fruit of some sort. The tablet design is unique – there is a large rounded base tapering off to a tip. The front of the pack contains the lot number as well as the expiry date (DEC/2006) – it’s still good. 😉
The back of the Cialis blister pack is nicely decorated – there’s the Cialis brand name with the generic names listed below in different languages – tadalafil, tadalafilli and tadalafilo. The 20 mg per capsule dosage indication is visible and the Eli Lilly logo is watermarked at the bottom.
Here’s a closer look at the Cialis pills – it’s certainly different. The Lilly Cialis pills are orange in color and have no markings on the front.
The back of the strangely designed Cialis pill is imprinted with a stylized C 20.
I’m keeping the Viagra and Cialis packs for my collection. There is a common misconception that ED medications are aphrodisiacs (e.g. they can induce sexual activity). They’re not, the pharmacological mechanism does not involve sexual arousal. It won’t turn you on…and most of you already know that. It’s just a pet peeve of mine when people says it does. Methamphetamine is an indirect aphrodisiac. Viagra and Cialis are not.
I don’t consider Viagra and Cialis to be recreational per se, but I’ll probably try some and write a report on it. I have to say that my chemical of comparison would be methamphetamine though, so don’t expect raving reviews from me. 😉 I’ll like to give it a go though, just for
fun.
Except I can’t bring myself to eat them, they’re packaged so nicely by the pharmaceutical companies!
