PENTAGON TO SPEND $50 MILLION TO SUPPLY TROOPS--WITH VIAGRA

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Pentagon estimates it will spend $50 million in the
coming year to provide the impotence drug Viagra to American troops and
military retirees.

The cost is roughly the price of two new Marine Corps Harrier jets or 45
Tomahawk cruise missiles and is among unexpected military expenses Pentagon
officials recently told Congress have come up since they made their
original 1999 budget requests.

"Viagra sort of burst on the scene," Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said
Friday.

Defense Department health officials estimated that if the drug were given
to everyone who wanted it, the cost could top $100 million. But the
military is limiting Viagra to men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction by a
physician, and no one is allowed more than six pills a month.

Since Viagra was authorized for sale in the United States in March, the
drug has been prescribed to more than 4 million American men, according to
its maker, Pfizer Inc.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski