Party Pills Research Articles

Spreading the Word, but What Word is That? Viagra and Male Sexuality in Popular Culture

Viagra was released in 1998 and, as Abraham Morgentaler so aptly wrote in his book The Viagra Myth (2003), ‘the world has not been the same since’. Representations of Viagra appeared in a variety of popular cultural and media texts and participated in the ‘craze’ known as ‘Viagramania’. Drawing on, and extending the work of Meika Loe, The Rise of Viagra (2004) in the United States, we explore some of the changes in depictions of Viagra and masculine sexualities in the New Zealand context under the framings: ‘Viagra-as-Joke’, ‘Legitimate Viagra’ (which includes ‘Romance Drug Viagra’ and ‘Masculinity Pill Viagra’), and ‘Party Pill Viagra’. We suggest that changes in popular portrayals of Viagra from 1998 to the present, as well as a decrease in the range of popular genres/forms in which Viagra appears, contribute to a narrowing in discourses of masculine sexuality in which the emphasis is increasingly on penile performance and enhancement.

Prevalence of use, epidemiology and toxicity of ‘herbal party pills’ among those presenting to the emergency department

The aim of the present study was to establish the prevalence of use, epidemiology and toxicity of 'herbal party pills' in ED presenters. This was an analytical cross-sectional survey of patients and relatives presenting to a large tertiary ED. Consenting participants completed a specifically designed questionnaire. A total of 1043 people completed the questionnaire (participation rate of 97.2%). One hundred and twenty-five (11.9%) had taken herbal party pills and subgroup analysis showed that use was most prevalent in those aged 14-25 years (30%). The majority had taken pills between two and five times (56%). Eighty-three (66.4%) had been drinking alcohol when they first took party pills. Only 80 (64%) had read the product directions, and 48 (38.4%) had, at some stage, taken more pills than recommended. One hundred and six (84.8%) had felt effects from party pills, but only 63 (59% of those feeling effects or 50.4% of total) described these as 'good'. Six (5.7% of those with effects or 4.8% of total) had sought medical attention for effects. Seventy-four (59.2%) would take herbal party pills again. In conclusion, the use of herbal party pills is common in presenters to the ED, particularly in those aged 14-25 years. These people are at risk for toxicity from the pills because there is a tendency for them not to read the instructions before ingestion, to take more pills than recommended and to coingest alcohol. Emergency physicians need to be aware of the use and potential adverse effects of herbal party pills to enable them to recognize signs of toxicity in ED presenters and thus provide appropriate supportive care.