Covid stress: Sale of drugs for sexual stimulation up 72% in Gujarat

Stress and duress triggered by Covid-19 pandemic seems to have lingering effects. Even when Covid cases remain rather muted, the prolonged impact of stress on libido has sent the sales of sexual stimulants and rejuvenation drugs skyrocketing. 

In fact, data compiled by All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD)-AWACS revealed that Gujarat recorded a 72% spike in sale of drugs in this category in June 2022 as compared to the corresponding month in the previous year.

Chemists and druggists attribute this spike in sales to unrelenting stress people continue to experience since the pandemic.

According to AIOCD-AWACS, sale of drugs for sexual stimulation and rejuvenation,grew from Rs 2.06 crore in June 2021 to Rs 3.55 crore in June 2022.

According to AIOCD-AWACS, sale of drugs for sexual stimulation and rejuvenation, largely sildenafil citrate and tadalafil along with herbal and ayurvedic medicines, grew from Rs 2.06 crore in June 2021 to Rs 3.55 crore in June 2022.

According to the data, the growth has been roughly around 10-20% in the previous years in a given month except for the year 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Medical practitioners said that tendency of many to self-medicate and pop pills purely out of performance pressure could be pushing sales.