Until recently, I kind of assumed that “male enhancement” products were pretty much all snake oil, and that anything which actually worked would be picked up and marketed by more reputable pharmacologists. But I was also under the misapprehension, fueled by internet spambots, that erectile dysfunction drugs could legally be bought over the counter. But that’s not actually the case, and reputable medical resources on “male enhancement” products mostly just emphasize that they haven’t been clinically proven, and encourage men who may be largely healthy, but still dissatisfied with their performance, to “talk to a doctor about erectile dysfunction.”
Given how far the FDA errs on the side of caution towards unproven treatments, and how much money it takes to vet something to their satisfaction, these resources would probably say pretty much the same thing whether or not these types of supplements actually worked. So I’m curious, what are people’s experiences with them like? Does it seem like they actually do anything?
7 comments
They are snake oil. Yes, the FDA process is onerous. But think about it – if these products ACTUALLY worked, they would have ads on TV, in magazines, in the Super Bowl. They would be PRINTING money. And of course, the international markets for such a thing, where the FDA has no power…
They don’t get FDA approval because they don’t work. Most are nothing more than some random herbs and a little caffeine.
To paraphrase u/AutisticBiCouple, “There are no pharmaceuticals products that actually succeed in increasing penis size, and we know this because there are also no trillionaires.”
I take Cialis. It definitely works. I’ve tried a few OTC male enhancement products, including ones to increase semen volume, and they did nothing. Obviously I haven’t tried everything out there, but I’d be really surprised if any of the OTCs turned out to actually work. It’s just easy money for those companies, selling cheap herb extracts and the like to gullible people (like me) at enormous profits.
I don’t understand why you would use an untested treatment over tested treatments that have been used for decades and all the side effects are 100% known.
It’s super easy to get a script nowadays. Why not just go for the good stuff?
The only “male enhancement product” that works are illegal drugs.
They have a pretty good margin, not gonna lie.
“male enhancement” typically means increasing penis size. And none are proven to work.
But seems like you are talking ED. And funny thing is that you can now get generic Cialis (Tadalafil) cheaper than any of those unproven gas station products. Why buy the crap when you can be using the proven effective method?