Boomers Face Dilemma with Prescription Drugs

When it comes to sexuality, health conscious boomers are seeking alternatives.
 
By Luke Vorstermans
 
With increasing life expectancy predicted to give Baby Boomers another 20 or 30 years of retirement living, they are facing a growing dilemma: the pills they swallow today could have dire consequences in the years to come. While many common prescription and over-the-counter drugs were developed to help maintain health and vitality, the growing alarm over their side effects is causing a backlash. Is the short-term gain worth the long-term pain?

​​One area of increasing distress is their sexual health and mainly the decreasing sex drive. Women especially are under pressure to prop up their lagging libidos to keep the bedroom action alive. With over 35 million women entering their menopause years and traditional hormonal replacement therapy under FDA scrutiny, female sexual health is a hot topic on talk shows.
 
Since Pfizer introduced Viagra in 1998, men have been swallowing the little blue pill – or variations of it – by the millions. But their newly found youthfulness comes with a price. The short-term side effects of Viagra, such as headaches, back pain and upset stomach for example, indiscriminately flowing through the bloodstream are well documented. But the long-term risk of popping a pill to maintain an erection is still unknown. The price of the boomer attitude of wanting it – and wanting it now – may well be borrowed from their future health and wellness.
 
Women are facing a similar situation with the pink pill, which is still a long way from FDA approval, so they are looking at several other options to boost their libido. One drug, Proctor and Gamble’s Intrinsa, was banned by the FDA but recently made its debut in Europe. However, without long-term safety studies and growing controversy surrounding the complexity of female sexual desire, health-conscious boomers are looking elsewhere.
 
“Our instant fix culture comes with a huge price,” says Linda Ryan, President of The Sense of Smell Lab, a world leader in developing products that use the sense of smell to influence behavior. “We’ve bought into the band-aid approach to health... the short-term solution. But boomers are beginning to realize that with several decades of living ahead of them, the drugs they take today could have dire consequences come tomorrow.”
 
With the sales of alternative health therapies reaching unprecedented levels, companies are exploring non-invasive approaches to health and wellness. One promising product, Scentuelle uses the sense of smell to enhance sexual desire. Since nothing enters the bloodstream, it is completely drug free and has no side effects.
 
With over 78 million baby boomers marching to retirement and facing the ‘use it or lose it’ dilemma when it comes to their sexual health, the safest alternative might be right under their nose.