The Sunday Mail
During the course of the week, I witnessed what I initially thought was a funny encounter but which later morphed into a tragedy as somebody lost their father from that encounter.
There I was going about minding my own business at this suburban medical centre in Harare with my ailing relative when suddenly a groaning man was wheeled in from an ambulance by a frantic ambulance crew. All medical attention shifted to the groaning man while two women who were accompanying the man exchanged obscene words.
“Ndiwe wati anwe ma ‘bullets’ ari two. Ndakuudza kuti anonwiwa hwani hwani, chiona manje. Akafa ndiwe wamuuraya! (It is you who advised him to take two ‘bullet’ tablets. I told you he needs to take one. Now see what is happening. If he dies, you are responsible),” shouted the older woman who appeared to be in her 50s.
It turned out the groaning man had taken some sex-enhancement drugs he had bought from the other woman who traded them along his street. What he expected to be romantic sex-filled fun turned out to be a nightmare as his manhood refused to go back to its flaccid state, preferring to maintain a painful erection despite having done “three rounds”.
While his sex partner had endured the “three rounds”, she refused to go on to the fourth resulting in him going back to the saleswoman with his now painful erection becoming a nuisance. During the haggling he eventually collapsed and they had to call the ambulance.
While he was being attended to, the 30-year-old groaning man unfortunately died. The said “bullet”, as these drugs are fondly referred to on the streets of Harare, are meant to enhance sexual performance and are sold for roughly around $5 for four tablets in street corners and pharmacies.
I have no problems with their sale, but what I am mostly worried about are the age groups of men buying these drugs.
The million-dollar question is: what is wrong with our young men? Judging by the popularity of these drugs amongst the young men, I am inclined to agree that something is definitely wrong with most Zimbabwean men.
Are they failing to function sexually even though age and good health is still on their side? Otherwise why would they resort to using sex-enhancing drugs when biologically we believe they are agile compared to their fathers in the 60s upwards?
Most of these sex-enhancing drugs are illegally imported into the country, but some men still turn a blind eye on their side-effects and continue to use them.
Sometime in February this year, a Kenyan man was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya trying to smuggle millions of dollars’ worth of sex-enhancing drugs called Vega 100. He had illegally sourced them from India.
Now, that gets me alarmed. Are Africa’s young men in such danger? Tell me what is going on guys!
According to online sources, research has it that use of sex-enhancing drugs among men put them at risk of developing heart attacks and strokes.
Drug maker Pfizer, on its website, noted that some of these sex-enhancing drugs have one or more of the 45 chemical elements that have not yet been tested on human beings. Because of that, most consumers of these drugs end up falling victims of chronic diseases that eventually lead to their death.
I asked a few male colleagues under the age of 30 why the drugs were so popular among their age group and their response was that they were under pressure from their female lovers to be ‘‘supermen’’ in bed.
“We are under pressure. Women expect us to be ‘supermen’ in bed with super sex performances. Because of this pressure, we end up succumbing to the use of these drugs and other traditional herbs for better sex performance. You can’t blame us, can you?” said one young man I interviewed.
Interestingly the manufacturers of Vega 100 describe the drug as “effective enough to make you a champion in the bed”!
Remember to keep it flaccid and roll them to [email protected]
Because of the burden of wanting to fulfil the expectations of a superman, the young men concurred that for them to impress their women in bed, they should use the drugs even if they do not have erectile dysfunction.
Whatever the reasons are, it is worth noting that men of certain ages should not use these drugs.
Why should you fall prey to the so-called high expectations and peer pressure and risk your own sexual health? Is it worth it, young men out there?
Let’s always remember to keep it flaccid and roll them to [email protected]
