UK pharmacies will be selling Viagra over the counter as of spring 2018, but the men of Ringaskiddy in Ireland’s Cork County don’t need to pay for the erectile dysfunction drug. In fact, they don’t even have to pop the little blue pill: the fumes from a nearby Viagra manufacturing plant reportedly have an arousing effect on the male population. The villagers claim that even their dogs roam about in a state of arousal. Basically, it’s a case of “love is in the air,” but it may not be all fun and games.
Viagra is a cash cow for US-based pharma giant Pfizer, which has had this particular factory going for about two decades. According to a company statement, the stories are just an “amusing” myth. “Our manufacturing processes have always been highly sophisticated as well as highly regulated,” Pfizer said. Still, the stories have been circulating for years, and there are too many accounts to just brush aside the issue.