All-Natural Equivalent of Viagra for Women Now Available at the drugstore.com Web Store; XZITE is Backed by Clinical Trials at UCLA Medical Center.

Business Editors/Medical Writers

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2004

drugstore.com, inc. (Nasdaq:DSCM), the leading online retailer of health, beauty, wellness, personal care, and pharmacy products, is excited to announce the availability of XZITE(TM), an all-natural product that works like Viagra for women. The effectiveness of the new product, featured in the Sexual Well-being(TM) store on drugstore.com(TM), was indicated in clinical trials conducted at the UCLA Medical Center.

According to an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (Laumann, et. al., 1998), forty-three percent of women in the U.S. under 60, or 50 million women, have a Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Symptoms of FSD include low libido, diminished sexual arousal, and orgasmic disorder.

Drs. Laura and Jennifer Berman spearheaded the study of XZITE at UCLA Medical Center, Department of Urology, Los Angeles, CA. They worked with BJH Laboratories, the creators of XZITE, to design and implement a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study at UCLA. The trial tested XZITE's effectiveness on sexual arousal, libido, and orgasm in women with sexual function complaints and a control group of women without sexual function complaints. The clinical data from the study showed the following:

-- 73.9% had increased vaginal lubrication with XZITE, compared

to 15.1 % with the placebo

-- 63.3% had improved their sexual desire with XZITE, compared to

16.7 % with the placebo

-- 75.5% had an increase in clitoral sensation to stimulation

with XZITE, compared to 15.7 % with the placebo

-- 72.9% had increased satisfaction with their sex life with

XZITE, compared to 13.1 % with the placebo

-- 64.4% improved their ease of achieving orgasm with XZITE,

compared to 21.8 % with the placebo

-- 45.2% improved their ease of achieving multiple orgasms with

XZITE, compared to 9.6% with the placebo

-- 60.9% increased their frequency of sexual relations with the

use of XZITE, compared to 10.1% with the placebo

Dr. Laura Berman is currently director of the Berman Center in Chicago, an organization focused on helping women repair and enhance their sex lives and reach their full sexual potential in a safe, therapeutic environment. Dr. Laura Berman says that she is "very excited that drugstore.com(TM) is doing so much to bring cutting-edge products to women who need them." Dr. Jennifer Berman, Co-Director of the Female Sexual Medicine Center, Department of Urology at UCLA, often provides samples of XZITE to her patients.

XZITE is composed of three natural Chinese herbs -- ligusticum, acanthopanax, and chrysanthemum. Ligusticum, commonly called "lovage" according to the folklore of many Asian countries, has been the principal ingredient in love potions for centuries. Acanthopanax, commonly called "spiny panax," has been used by the Chinese for hundreds of years to treat male impotence and decreased sexual desire in women. (The word acanthopanax is derived from the Greek words akantha (thorn), pan (all) and akes (remedy); i.e., "a spiny/thorny all remedy.") Chrysanthemum is a plant of Chinese origin that has been prescribed by the Chinese for hundreds of years to improve and increase blood circulation.

XZITE stimulates the medulla oblongata, the posterior part of the brain, which is believed to be the part of the brain that regulates moods and emotions. The three herbs act synergistically to increase the blood flow to the genital area and result in muscle relaxation by:

-- acting as a precursor to nitric oxide, a chemical that

increases blood flow

-- increasing nitric oxide production;

-- increasing sexual arousal;

-- facilitating and increasing micro vascular circulation by

acting as a vasodilator;

-- increasing clitoral engorgement;

-- assisting in promoting a relaxed state of mind;

-- increasing vaginal lubrication;

-- increasing sexual arousal as well as increasing the ease of

achieving orgasm(s)

About drugstore.com, inc.

drugstore.com, inc. (Nasdaq:DSCM) is "Your Health & Beauty Superstore" and the leading online health, beauty, wellness, personal care, and pharmacy solution in the world. The drugstore.com(TM) online store provides a convenient, private, and informative shopping experience that encourages consumers to purchase products essential to healthy, everyday living. The online store offers thousands of brand-name personal health care products at competitive prices; a full-service, licensed retail pharmacy; and a wealth of health-related information, buying guides, and other tools designed to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. Consumers can personalize their shopping experiences with shopping lists, e-mail reminders for replenishing regularly used products, and private e-mail access to pharmacists and beauty experts for questions.

drugstore.com, inc. has been awarded the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) certification by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as a fully licensed facility exercising competent, safe pharmacy practices in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.