You've heard of airplane pilots hitting the bar before
takeoff. But how about the newest trend: Israeli fighter pilots popping
Cialis tablets, supposedly to improve breathing at high altitudes. The
Israeli military's weekly magazine, Bamahaneh, recently presented
an interview with a retired (but not retired, if you know what we mean)
military general who just so happened to have a few pills on hand and
conducted a single-subject study of the drug's effects on breathing
on Mount Kilimanjaro. A secondhand report in Reuters quoted an unnamed
air force officer saying the study's results justify further
"testing" of the pills. But a spokeswoman for the air force
said the type of oxygen starvation experienced by mountaineers is
different from that seen in pilots, and there were no plans to issue the
drug to members of the air force. In possibly related news, French
customs officials intercepted a shipment of 224,000 fake Viagra and
Cialis pills in December, at Paris's Roissy airport. Said an
amorous pilot, who remained anonymous for fear of retribution:
"Oui, oui! Eet is zee only way to fly. As they say: We have
liftoff!"