'Little Blue Pill' is 10 Years Old

The little blue pill that rescued the sex lives and saved marriages of couples worldwide is 10 years old this month. Viagra, which has been used by some 35 million men, moved the treatment of impotence out of the shadows to lead a multi-billion-dollar industry. The drug has also triggered other, unforeseen benefits, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Men once reluctant to visit doctors are now being treated for high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and other diseases that can be linked to erectile dysfunction. The pill also triggered a new round of debate over gender issues in medical care and health insurance, which tends to offer better coverage for Viagra than for birth control. (More erectile dysfunction stories.)