• Associated Press via Houston Chronicle, Tuesday, January 23, 2007 12:45 PM

An anti-AIDS group is suing pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over ads it claims encourage the use of Viagra as a party drug and that such recreational use can spread HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

In the suit, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation calls ads for the impotence drug false and misleading, echoing allegations it made in an ad campaign last month. The group also alleges Viagra's marketing practices foster an increase in the spread of STDs, as studies have found the drug is used together with crystal meth.

While meth can heighten sexual desire, it also can impair erections, says Michael Weinstein, president of the Foundation. "In order to satisfy that heightened desire, you have to take Viagra," he says. Pfizer denies it promotes the recreational use of its blockbuster drug, with raked in $860 million in U.S. sales in 2005.

Read the whole story at Associated Press via Houston Chronicle »