Because of the big business generated by selling fake Viagra in China, manufacturers have to test their product to ensure that men who take the imitation erectile dysfunction (ED) pill would last long in bed so they would keep buying those drugs. One factory in Hunan province used its manufacturing staff to try their fake pills.

At first, the task seemed like a dream-come-true for men because they are paid to have sex with their wives for men whose families live in the same area. For those whose families were from another farther town or single men, they had to test the fake Sildenafil – the generic name of the ED drug - on masseuses in massage parlours. The company reimbursed them for the expenses they incurred at the parlour, reports the Sanxiang Metropilis.

Once they knew if the fake drug worked, or not, via a lasting erection, then the counterfeit maker knew the right proportion of cornstarch they would mix with genuine Viagra. The factory initially used a 50:50 ratio, but after the testing, increased the proportion of Sildenafil to 75 percent due to the mixed result the massage parlor and home tests.

It is important for workers of the counterfeiters to have the right proportion because if careless mixers make a mistake and use 100 percent cornflour, the buyer of the fake pill would just have a normal erection or none at all if he has ED. But if a mixer placed 100 percent Sildenafil then the buyer could rise to the occasion good enough for one round for an ED patient, or for a longer period and have perhaps two or more rounds of sex for a normal male, notes the South China Morning Post.

However, over time, the employees quit their jobs. “The staff were very happy to test the fake medication at the beginning, but soon became annoyed when the pill-testing become too much hard work, so they wanted to resign,” explains a worker. He stresses the fake Viagra they sold were tested on humans “so we have not arrived at random conclusions.”

Since May 2014, Chinese authorities estimate that the gangs they busted have produced over 100 million fake Viagras sold in and out of the country. In September alone, the police confiscated in Guangdong, a province in south China, 1.5 million fake sex drugs.

Viagra is in high demand in China as more middle-aged men suffer from ED. However, because of the prohibitive cost of a genuine ED drug, many buy lower-priced but fake Viagras.

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