Pfizer Pfakes: broken hearted old Men

Charles R. Earl, M.A., ABD CEO, Communication Connections

A recent news item on this web site chronicled the massive distribution of counterfeit Pfizer products in the Mid-East. Actually, the problem is a more global one. Fake pharmaceuticals do not respect boundaries or jurisdictions. Fake drugs and their purveyors do not respect people, either. They insidiously penetrate every market, every demographic, everywhere. Various articles and research papers have identified the real harm done to patients by the nefarious substitution or adulteration of pharmaceuticals.

There is another massive downside to the “faking” industry that is rarely discussed. As a person who has sailed past my sixtieth (60th) birthday in recent years, I play golf, enjoy social activities and have clients who are in their “golden years.” The nest is empty, and perhaps, retirement goals have been achieved. A lifetime of stress and hard work has taken its toll on the body and the mind. As the person begins his glide pattern in life, he discovers that he has heightened energy and new purposes in life. But alas, the body that has been broken and abused for many years will not cooperate. But wait! Viola’ (maybe I should say “Viva”). What once was but a distant dream has now become quite feasible.

The potential for rekindling the romantic lives of these aging warriors has filled them with hope and optimism. Their significant others, while perhaps skeptical in the beginning, may share in their mates’ revivals with gusto and gladness. Then Whammo! Nothing happens. The dreams of reinvigorated lives together become downcast and droopy. The hope for shared love does not spring. The promises of new beginnings fade into distant memories of days gone by.

There are a multitude of snide jokes about the users of Viagra. There is, however, a real cost when the product is counterfeit. It is more than some randy old guy trying to get his jollies at the local bowling alley or cocktail bar. Real people, real couples, real frustration and disappointment color the landscape of people who had hoped to recapture the spark. Maybe they will grasp the hope anyway despite the failure of the drug, but the detour and the delay are unnecessary and avoidable.