"Keep It Up and You'll Go Blind"

Many mothers have told their young sons that too much action for Mr. Happy would make them go blind. While most people scoff at the myth, there is now empirical data which suggests that impotence medicine, Mr. Happy's drug of choice, is linked to blindness.

From the Associated Press:

Federal health officials are examining rare reports of blindness among some men using the impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis, a disclosure that comes at a time when the drug industry can ill afford negative publicity about another class of blockbuster medicines.

The Food and Drug Administration still is investigating, but has no evidence yet that the drug is to blame, said spokeswoman Susan Cruzan.

This type of blindness is called NAION, or non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. It can occur in men who are diabetic or have heart disease, the same conditions that can cause impotence and thus lead to Viagra use.

The FDA has 42 reports of the blindness, 38 among users of Viagra and four among users of Cialis. There were no cases reported among users of Levitra, the third impotence drug.

I imagine the late-night television joke writers are working overtime on this theme.