What people get up to with Viagra

Or rather, the different ways journalists report Viagra related news.

The news was of more growth at Tesco, this time it is that Viagra will join baked beans, TVs and insurance.

The BBC announced Tesco to sell 'cut-price' Viagra:

The supermarket Tesco says it is to start selling Viagra over the counter at the 'cheapest price'.

It was a relatively straight-lace piece, that mentions the potential dangers of buying drugs online.

Others took a different approach. Blogger turned presenter on talk radio station LBC, Iain Dale, asked 'Whatever next?'. I was out that evening so did not get to hear his audience's thoughts, or whether the question related to the availability of ED treatments or Tesco's own expansion.

Few will be surprised that the Mirror and the Daily Telegraph take different approaches to the same story.

I think the Mirror's columnist Derek McGovern had fun writing a Carry On-esque piece which opens with a police request for help finding the 'hardened criminals' who have stolen the store's first shipment before he moves on to predicting a price war 'leading prices to go down and everything else to go up'.

The Telegraph worries about Viagra's effects... Its effects on pensions. Ian Cowie's blog posting opens:

Tesco’s plan to follow high street rival Boots and start selling Viagra next week without a doctor’s prescription could be a bad idea, according to pensions experts. Yes, that’s right; pensions experts.

Their concern is that men are living longer and upsetting long established calculations based on men dropping dead before receiving too much of their pension. Which shows how society accepted men's poor life expectancy.

The reasons Ian Cowie suggests for men living longer are central to the MHF's work and reflect the concerns in a campaign some years ago calling for GPs to have a little more leeway in prescribing ED treatments. More men might see their GP about health problems if they think they will come away with the drug they want. Whether or not the drug's prescribed they might have some underlying heart disease diagnosed which could help them live longer.

He does raise an interesting question - will men still see their GP and have the cause of their erection problems diagnosed if they can get the drugs over the counter after a couple of short questions with all the convenience that brings?    

There's info on ED on malehealth and on men's access to services on the MHF's site.

The Guardian and Pistonheads.com discuss cycling among middle-aged men

The last month hasn't exactly been summer cycling weather, unless you have waterproofs and mudguards but there are a lot more people cycling these days and apparently many are middle aged men.

As The Guardian asks, is this about fitness or flash gear (and what about the babysitter)? The survey that prompted the Guardian's article also said that many new cyclists were Waitrose shopping broadsheet readers. The Guardian's bike blog suggests that for some, very wealthy, men it is about the gear.

A visit to the forums at pistonheads.com (yes, the fast motors website!) indicates that for many men it is about exercise. Also, the government's cycle to work scheme has encouraged them to build exercise into their daily lives - something central to this year's Men's Health Week - see malehealth.co.uk.

There are loads of organised cycle rides these days, even the MHF's Matt Maycock and Peter Baker have done the London to Brighton ride (I take the train!). Perhaps these have encouraged people to start too.

What we do know is, whether you're a middle-class and middle-aged man who's pushed the cycle to work scheme to its £1000 limits or younger, shop at Asda and spent your own hard earned, cycling is good for your health.

So good you even have fewer sick days!

Which raises the question why don't more employers offer cycling facilities and the cycle to work scheme and why has the taxman just made the scheme less good?