At first, it seems the world is a strange and wonderful place. Then you look again and find it the same rather depressing place. It would be wonderful to be able to write that men changed immediately they found there were risks. How rational that would make men appear. They see the danger, understand what must be done and never hesitate. Except, men have been only too aware of how they acquire sexually transmitted diseases for rather a long time. In part, this is connected to the name containing a reference to transmission during sexual activity. To combat infection during sexual activity, there have been well-documented versions of the condom available since the sixteenth century. The first condom made of rubber appeared in 1845. It would be good to be able to write the STDs were now almost eradicated. After all, through vaccination, we have managed to rid the world of many diseases. When something so simple as a piece of clothing can prevent the spread of a disease, how can this be a problem?

Well, the latest figures from around the world show STDs alive and well. Sexual morals are not that easy to change. As a result, the rate of infections is increasing from the least serious to HIV/AIDS which is rapidly rising up the top ten of causes of death. Why, you ask, is this so all fire important to write about it on a site devoted to erectile dysfunction? Well, there’s a new piece of research. It followed 34,000 men who were taking one of the erectile dysfunction drugs between 1997 and 2006. Their sexual health was compared to about a million other men who never received a prescription for one of the drugs. The research team then analyzed all the main insurers’ databases to compare health before and after starting an erectile dysfunction drug, and living life without their help. Now we come to one of those wonderful lines: "The statistics do not lie." Well, allowing the laughter to die down, the statistics here show three times more men contracted an STD in the year following their use of an erectile dysfunction drug.

That bears repeating. Men using Cialis were three times more likely to contract an STD than men not using an erectile dysfunction drug. So what’s happening? Well, as always in these situations, a simile is called for. Think of men with erectile dysfunction as being like a cork held underwater. They want to shoot up to the surface, but are held back by fear of embarrassment. Then along comes Cialis. Confidence is restored. The men shoot back up to the surface of the dating pool and, filled with enthusiasm, have a lot more sex than their peers. If they had picked up the habit of only having sex while wearing a condom, this would not be a problem. Unfortunately, the majority of men remain committed to the idea of "natural" sex. This means unsafe sex is growing as Cialis and the other erectile dysfunction drugs encourage more men back into the singles market. So here comes the moralizing bit at the end. Come on now guys. Wear a condom. Keep yourself safe. Keep your next partners safe. You know it makes sense.