Editorial: No thrill from female sex pill

Whether you are a woman who finds herself lacking sexual desire or a man having trouble… Whether you are a woman who finds herself lacking sexual desire or a man having trouble getting his gal to horizontal tango, there’s now a pill to increase female sex drive.

Developed by the German drug company Boehringer Ingelheim, the “little pink pill” treats hypoactive sexual desire disorder by altering compounds in the brain to boost female libido.

But last week, the pill failed to gain recommendation for approval by a Food and Drug Administration panel.Viagra is used to treat men with erectile dysfunction, but there doesn’t seem to be such a clear-cut diagnosis for a sexual desire disorder in women.

There is then a question of whether a pill is even necessary or effective.

It seems more likely that financially motivated drug companies are trying to create a problem so that they can treat it, but does it work?

According to CNN, “women taking the pill reported that ‘sexually satisfying events’ increased to about 4.5 a month, while those taking a placebo reported about 3.7 such events.” It is also noted that the “events” did not need to include an orgasm.

Because there is such a vague definition of what constitutes a sexual desire disorder in women, there seems to be no medical reason for a pill that treats it. We have to wonder if the women willing to buy this pill have exhausted all other alternatives, including therapy, lubricants, arousal devices or new partners.

It’s more likely that women look for a magic pill to solve their problem in the sheets than actually look for a cure to a sexual desire disorder, and if so, they’ll probably be disappointed.