An estimated five million men in the UK experience erection problems (EPs), yet 27 per cent have never spoken to anyone about the issue, according to a new report looking at sex and intimacy in the UK. The report comes as part of the launch of the 'Time to Raise It' movement, founded by Upjohn, the Men’s Health Forum, sexual health charity Brook and dating expert Sarah Louise Ryan, which seeks to remove the shame and stigma associated with EPs.

The survey of over 5,000 British participants found that 46 per cent of people would like to be more intimate, but and over a quarter (26 per cent) said that EPs had prevented them from being intimate with a partner. And EPs aren't something just experienced by older individuals, as the report reveals that 25 per cent of people with EPs are under the age of 35. 

“On the surface the reality of EPs for many men is bleak,” commented Martin Tod, chief executive at the Men's Health Forum. “Not only can EPs be a sign of underlying conditions, which if left unchecked can cause further problems such as heart disease and diabetes, but the sense of failure and perceived loss of masculinity that many men feel as a result of EPs can also cause them to retreat from themselves, their partners and life.”

The Time to Raise It movement aims to provide men and their partners with the tools to discuss intimacy and normalise EPs with three specific goals: 

1. Challenge the lack of honest and open representation when it comes to the reality of sex, love, EPs and intimacy   
2. Remove the sense of isolation attached to EPs for men and their partners through honest conversation and sharing about the prevalence and causes of EPs
3. Reconnect men and their partners to each other and to sex through open education, cultural references and media conversations.

Pharmacy teams can learn more about the movement on the Time To Raise It Facebook page and join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #TimeToRaiseIt.