A Brazilian politician is lobbying for Viagra tablets to be handed out free of charge to stimulate t...
A Brazilian politician is lobbying for Viagra tablets to be handed out free of charge to stimulate the sexual appetites of ageing rubber tappers, in order to keep alive their dying trade in a remote Amazon state
Amazon tappers trawl the forest each day, harvesting crops of natural latex
"They are ageing, they have hard lives. They need stimulation to improve their sexual performance," said Wagner Salles, a deputy in the Acre state legislature
He is proposing to launch a project for the local government to periodically spend $263,000 to provide free Viagra
But proud Joao de Deus, head of the local workers' federation in Acre, said rubber tappers had no problems with their sexual drive and if they did, they would turn to natural remedies such as herbs. "There are households with 14 children here," he said. There is obviously little demand for rubber products from the indigenous people, then
