AIDs group asks Pfizer to pull Viagra New Year's ad

CHICAGO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A major AIDS advocacy and treatment group on Friday asked drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to pull advertisements encouraging use of the impotence pill Viagra on New Year's Eve, blasting the ads as recklessly encouraging recreational use of the drug.

"What are you doing on New Year's Eve?" a smiling gray-haired man asks in a full-page advertisement that ran in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The ad reads: "Fact: Viagra can help guys with all degrees of erectile dysfunction -- from mild to severe."

The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation criticized the latest print ads as promoting Viagra as a party drug and encouraging risky sexual behavior.

"Not only does sending this reckless message contribute to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, but it is also part of a pattern of irresponsible direct-to-consumer advertising by the drug industry," said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDs group, in a statement.

Pfizer representatives were not available for comment.

Drugmakers, including Pfizer, are facing increasing criticism for what foes say is excessive promotion of their drugs. These critics say marketing drugs beyond approved uses poses health risks and also pushes up skyrocketing health-care costs.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pushed Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, to withdraw a Viagra ad inferring that men could recapture the vitality of their youth and become a "wild thing" if they took Viagra.

In criticizing the "wild thing" ad, the FDA said the claim of a return to a prior level of sexual desire is unproven and also noted that the ad failed to mention why certain patients should not take Viagra.

Representatives for the FDA could not immediately be reached.

To be sure, in print below the picture in the Wall Street Journal ad, Pfizer notes that Viagra users should "remember to protect yourself and your partner from sexually transmitted diseases."

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