Pleasure in pain: Dangers of the use of aphrodisiacs in Ghana

An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior, (Rajpal et al., 2011). Such substances include but are not limited to plants, spices, foods, devices, and synthetic chemicals.

The word 'aphrodisiac' originates from 'Aphroditē,' the Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty. The history of aphrodisiacs is not clear but had been part of humankind since time immemorial. Mandrakes mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 30:14-16 are believed to aid sexual fertility. Other religions and cultures have their separate histories with the use of aphrodisiacs.

In Ghana, people mostly use aphrodisiacs to prolong sexual activity, increase libido, treat erectile dysfunction, prevent premature ejaculation, make their penises longer and bigger, etc. Aphrodisiacs in Ghana come in the form of herbal bitters and mixtures, herbal capsules, ointments, powders, and synthetic chemicals in the form of drugs and sprays.

In addition, some food supplements, including but not limited to garlic, ginger, watermelon, avocado, pine nuts, oysters, tiger nuts, etc., are believed to enhance the sexual abilities of men. Furthermore, synthetic chemicals such as Viagra, Honygra, Cialis, Commit-50, Anafranil, and Dragon and illicit substances such as Tramadol, Cannabis, Cocaine, and Opiates are also used as aphrodisiacs.

Men who ejaculate early are often stigmatized and tagged as 'two minutes men.' This thus puts pressure on some men to use aphrodisiacs to prolong their ejaculation. Some also use aphrodisiacs to teach their partners they struggle to woo bitter lessons for wasting their time and money. Still, some also say they perform and enjoy sex better when they take sex-enhancing substances. Finally, poor sexual performances often lead to infidelities and even divorces, and hence many couples, particularly husbands, use aphrodisiacs to improve their sexual abilities to prevent such occurrences.

Impotence is even viewed as a taboo and feared by many, including myself. An impotent man is tagged in Twi as 'ɔdɔ Benada,' translated literally as he weeds on Tuesdays. For this, impotent men go to every length to conceal it from the public and use all kinds of medicines and concoctions to resurrect their supposed dead manhoods. In fact, some men had even professed that they prefer to die than be alive and impotent.

The incessant demand for aphrodisiacs had created a large and booming market for it in Ghana. NewsGhana reported on 19/02/2021 that youths between 18 and 40 years hugely patronize aphrodisiacs. This had made the sellers and manufacturers of aphrodisiacs millions of Ghana Cedis and left most of their buyers with deadly side effects, some even dead from overdoses.

Over the past few years, the media, particularly radio, television, and social media, have been inundated with the adverts for bitters and capsules that are claimed to enhance sexual abilities. They are even believed to address issues in marriages and relationships that result from weak sexual abilities. Moreover, there is a talk on substances that enhance sexual abilities virtually everywhere you turn – in lorry stations, commercial vehicles popularly known as trotros, and even in homes. So it does appear that sex-related issues are of great concern to many Ghanaians than bread and butter issues.

If you turn on a radio or TV now, you are likely to hear or see adverts on some of the local bitters or capsules with the disclaimers that they have been vetted and approved by the FDA (Food and Drugs Authority) and that they are not good for pregnant women and persons below 18 years. Some of these local bitters and capsules are Kpoo Keke, Adonko 123, Adonko Atadwe Ginger, Adonko Bitters, Joy Twedie Ginger, Alomo Bitters, Joy Dadi Bitters, Kakai Bitters, Don Papa Ginseng Bitters, Soloku Bitters, Happy Man Bitters, Nana Takyi Bitters, Agya Appiah Bitters, Gifas P Capsules, Angel Natural Capsules, Kingdom Ginseng Power Capsules, Rockman Capsules, and Gidi Powa Capsules.

The focus had generally been on the supposed sexual strength such bitters, capsules, and other sexual substances give without considering their deadly side effects. In an online survey of 47 persons for this article, about 81 percent confessed that they have never used substances to enhance their sexual performances before. However, 17 percent said they had used aphrodisiacs before, and 2 percent said their partners used the aphrodisiacs before having a sexual affair with them. Some of the aphrodisiacs the 17 percent professed using are Ginseng Herbal Bitters, Tiger nuts and Dates Drink, Honygra, Vigra, Commit-50, 10x bigger herbal cream, Anafranil and Dragon.

The respondents who professed to have ever used some form of aphrodisiacs reported several side effects. Among them are severe headaches, abnormal heartbeats, yawning, feeling sleepy and severe weakness. One reported that without aphrodisiacs, he/she could not perform in bed at all. Another person also reported that he/she experienced severe weakness after using the aphrodisiac to the extent that he/she could not go to work the following day. There was a general agreement among the respondents that aphrodisiac abuse is harmful and detrimental to the users' health and well-being.

Fiaveh (2020) argued that unwholesome substances that purport to enhance sexual abilities could have detrimental effects on men's sexuality, such as priapism, erectile dysfunction, impotence, and kidney diseases. I am a witness of a case where a young man below 35 years suffered from priapism for a fortnight (that is, his manhood erected for two weeks nonstop without becoming flaccid) after using synthetic aphrodisiacs to enhance his sexual performance. However, it took a long while for his manhood to erect again when it became flaccid (His name and location are withheld for privacy reasons).

Recently, chronic kidney failure has become one of the top diseases that kill many people in Ghana. Ghaneweb reported in February 2019 that more young people, especially men below 40 years, are dying of kidney diseases due to high intake of alcoholic beverages and aphrodisiacs. The report added that records at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital show that 1 in every 10 patients is diagnosed with kidney disease. Graphic Online also reported in February 2022 that excessive use of herbal bitters and other aphrodisiacs are to blame for the rising cases of chronic kidney diseases in Ghana, according to Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Again, medical officials at the Bank Hospital in Accra were reported to have expressed their worry about the increasing cases of kidney diseases among young people by Myjoyonline in April 2022. In the report, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the presidential advisor on health, noted that it costs about GH¢50,700 per year to treat one patient with kidney disease on renal dialysis. This excludes the cost of transportation to and fro the medical facilities and the time wasted, which could have been used for income-generating activities.

The FDA should intensify its operations at cracking down on unwholesome substances paraded as aphrodisiacs. Also, the Advertising Council of Ghana should be up to the task and ban adverts for bitters, drugs, and other substances that fall outside the legal scope of advertisements in Ghana. For example, Section 114 of the Public Health Act, 2012 Act 851 forbids advertisements for substances that purp
ort to treat diseases such as infertility, sexual impotence, kidney diseases, etc.

Dear youths, take your own life and health into your hands and not leave it to greedy profiteers who only care about your money, not your health and well-being. Lifestyle choices such as no excessive alcohol intake, no smoking, regular physical exercise, sleeping more and living stress-free lives are enough to boost your sexual abilities.