First time visitors to
Ghana, who may tune in to our local radio and TV stations may be pardoned for
thinking that impotency and sexual weakness is an affliction of Ghanaian men.
There’s no radio station (mostly Twi speaking ones) and TV stations in Ghana
who can boast of not advertising herbal bitters with the power of improving
sexual weakness in men.
The marketing departments
of such companies are smart enough to associate their products with some of the
most popular; most listened to/or watched radio or TV programmes. Some of the
companies have succeeded in becoming either lead sponsors of some of these
popular shows or part sponsors. This means their adverts are played or LPMs
(Live Presenter Mentions) carried out at every opportune time.
Some of the adverts are
damn hilarious, suggestive and exaggerative. The adjectives and the ‘raps’
these presenters employ in advertising these herbal bitters (mostly
aphrodisiacs in disguise) is legendary. Sometimes you are forced to applaud their
performance.
Interestingly, most adverts
about herbal bitters on TV feature young men and women oozing with excitement
after taking a ‘shot’ of the drink, a proof of the drinks efficacy, a departure
from the old days when old folks endorsed drinks.
Among the benefits one
derives from consuming these herbal bitters, we are told, include good appetite
(to eat well), boost ones strength/endurance. The chief benefit is obviously to
improve the sexual performance of men.
HEALTH
CONCERNS
The last claim has been
disputed by many health experts who, contend that, these herbal bitters are
nothing but ‘poison’ which could affect the health of the consumer over a
period of time, since most of the claims made about these bitters are unfounded
scientifically. That is, a large percentage of these products on the market
have not undergone the requisite scientific analysis to determine its efficacy-
improving ones ‘bed-matic skills’.
One of the critics
of these bitters was the former head of the Food and Drugs Board (now Food and
Drug Authority). In an interview on the proliferation of bitters on the
Ghanaian market and the FDB’s position on its medicinal (sexual improvement) claims,
Mr. Emmanuel Agyarko opined:
‘if these
beverages (herbal bitters) are proven to have medicinal properties, we (FDB)
won’t register it as herbal bitters. We will register it as medicine. They go
out there to deceive public that if they drink these bitters their sexual
impotence will go away. It won’t go away. You’ll sleep when you have to wake up
and do what you have to do’.
Studies have shown that the
sexual prowess of men naturally drops after a certain age and those who wish to
improve it should resort to medications prescribed by a qualified health expert
or adopt healthy lifestyles. People should ignore the claims of sexual
enhancements being propagated.
PUBLIC
REACTION
The health experts do have
their say. But the herbal bitters market keeps growing. It seems new products
keep emerging on a monthly basis. I’m not armed with stats on the rate of
consumption but by the mere ‘appearance’ of new products one can safely guess
the market is booming.
I was at a supermarket last
month when six people came into the shop to buy one of the new brands on the
market- Joy Daddy (J.D). Judging by
the quantity they bought, I concluded they operated drinking spots. One of them
bought six cartons. The least number of boxes I saw taken away was three.
Out of curiousness, for I
have heard glowing remarks about the bitters, I asked one of the buyers what
the drink does. He laughed and remarked ‘Are you new in Ghana?’ to which I said
no. He went on to remark that Joy Daddy ‘makes you stand on your feet (perform
well) in bed. It’s the most sought after nowadays’. Before walking out, he
advised me to try it and be the judge for myself.
WHO
TO BLAME
The economic principle of demand and supply is
playing out here. A section of Ghanaian men think they need to ‘correct’ their
sexual performance. They want to last long, satisfy their partners well and
enjoy the whole sexual experience. A man whose sexual game is top notch is
treated with respect. This is a well known secret. So men, who are even ‘fit’
will go ahead and ‘dope’ for maximum plaudits from their female partners.
These companies have
realized this and are churning out numerous brands of bitters to ‘solve’ this
problem of sexual weakness. You can’t blame them, even if the claim is false.
Once the product have the seal of the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana
Standard Boards, be rest assured that the radio and TV stations will advertise
them and the public will patronize it as well.
The superlative manner in
which some radio presenters promote these bitters can induce you to taste it. I
was listening to a sports show when the presenter began acknowledging his
sponsors. Out of the six sponsors, four were bitters producing companies. The
manner in which he ‘sold’ each one of these products without injuring the other
was amazing. He succeeded in projecting the good they do to consumers-boost
sexual competence.
I don’t know the number of
libido boosting herbal bitters available on the Ghanaian market as of today
(they are too many). I also don’t know
if the benefits they offer are true. But again, with many of these bitters
making appearances when men gather to socialize, you can’t but nod to its
proven wonders.
If you have any testimony,
please share at the comment section of this blog.
