Cialis is preferred by many living with erectile dysfunction as it provides erection for longer; it may continue to act for 36 hours. This means ease of taking, as one may not need to take the pill just before the planned sexual act (1).
Cialis has other benefits too. It is a little safer than Viagra for more frequent use. Additionally, it is also suitable for prostate health. It is approved to take low-dose Cialis daily for treating benign prostate hypertrophy (1).
Cialis works similarly to Viagra. Viagra contains an active ingredient called sildenafil, and Cialis contains a compound related to it called tadalafil (2).
Perhaps the only downside of Cialis is that it is generally more expensive than Viagra. Some people are also more comfortable with Viagra as they find it more effective. Others may prefer short-acting drugs over long-acting, as they may not like to have frequent erections the next day.
Understanding Cialis Shelf Life
Most men living with erectile dysfunction like to keep enough stock of their medications. However, they are worried about the shelf life, what to do if it gets expires, and so on.
Almost everyone has noticed that most medications have a shelf life of 2 to 3 years. In the case of medicines for erectile dysfunction, nearly every drug has 3 years of shelf life. Cialis also has three years of shelf life.
How is it possible that almost all oral drugs have a shelf life of 2 to 3 years? After all, studies show that the stability of nearly every chemical differs.
Here, the explanation is simple. Providing stable data to FDA is a very complicated process. It takes months in accelerated studies or 2-3 years in real-time studies. This means that if someone wants to claim a shelf life of five years for the drug, then that company would have to spend lots of time generating the data. It is commercially not viable in most cases. This is the reason why most companies prefer to stop at three years.
Could It Mean That Cialis Has a Shelf Life of Longer Than Three Years?
Most probably, yes. It may remain good to consume even several months after the expiry of shelf life. The expiry date does not indicate the expiry of the medication itself; it instead shows the limitation of stability data generated.
Almost every country has a program for the shelf-life extension of essential drugs. Like in the US, there is an FDA-approved policy to do so. One may be amazed to know that under the shelf life extension program (SLEP), US FDA has extended the shelf life of many drugs considerably beyond their indicated date of expiry. Data shows that the US FDA could extend the shelf life of 88% of drugs by more than one year, or even up to 3 years (66 months) (3).
This means that most drugs remain quite suitable for use even after their expiry date. There are very few people who would have stocks of Cialis several years old. But, using such a tablet after a few months of expiry will be safe.
However, it is necessary to know that storage conditions influence shelf life. That is why every medication comes with storage instructions. High temperatures or prolonged exposure to direct sunlight may considerably reduce the shelf life (4).
To conclude, Cialis is a great drug to get a hard erection for long. It is safe for regular use and rarely causes any side effects. It is highly stable and has a long shelf life. Therefore, when ordering it, one does not need to worry about it.
