Many moons ago, when Viagra first came on the market, I had a co-worker who went through those pills like they were breath mints, in spite of not actually needing them. And he’s not alone, as untold number of men without erectile dysfunction use the drug recreationally, believing it enhances their lovemaking prowess. But the results of a new study claim that all the pill-popping may lead users to second-guess their erectile ability.

“Among young, healthy men who used ED medicines recreationally, the more frequent ED medicine use was associated with lower confidence in achieving and maintaining erections, which in turn was associated with lower erectile function,” explains the co-author of a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The study compared recreational users or ED meds like Viagra against men who actually need the drugs and those who don’t use or need them.

While recreational users and non-users both reported the same level of erectile function, recreational users demonstrated “lower erectile confidence” and “lower overall satisfaction” when compared with non-users.

From the abstract [via NY Daily News]:

Confidence in erectile abilities mediates the inverse relationship between recreational EDM use and erectile function. Results underscore the possibility that recreational EDM use among healthy young men may lead to psychogenic ED.

So before you go scoring little blue pills from your pal, or lying to your doctor in order to score a Viagra prescription, be aware that it might lead to a blow to your self-confidence.

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