How Soon Is Too Soon?

In my ongoing "one for the boys" series, here's a report about a new study aimed at setting some standards for premature ejaculation:

Premature ejaculation occurs in just under two minutes, as opposed to about seven minutes for men able to stay the course, according to a U.S. study aimed at setting some standards for the disorder.

...

The researchers timed ejaculations by giving stopwatches to the sex partners of more than 1,500 men.

Writing in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, they said they were trying to set parameters for a condition that is poorly defined medically.

About 200 of the men in the study suffered from premature ejaculation, they found. A man with the condition took 1.8 minutes to ejaculate after beginning intercourse compared to 7.3 minutes for most of the men.

Premature ejaculators and their female partners also had higher ratings for personal distress, interpersonal difficulty with their partner, lack of ejaculation control and dissatisfaction with sexual intercourse, they found.

For a detailed discussion of premature ejaculation (PE), read this. A few facts:

Frequency:

In the US: The prevalence rate of PE in American males is estimated to range from 30-70%.

Internationally: Estimates for European countries and India mirror the prevalence in the United States. The prevalence in other parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and elsewhere is unknown.

Mortality/Morbidity: No known direct morbidity or mortality results from PE.

Race: No reproducible data exist on major differences between racial groups with respect to the incidence or prevalence of PE.

Sex: PE is a condition that only affects males.

Age: PE can occur at virtually any age in an adult man's life. It is most common in younger men (aged 18-30 y), but it also may occur in conjunction with secondary impotence in men aged 45-65 years.

In order to maintain a semblance of professional decorum, there will be no snarky comments [just a couple of, oh, so gentle, hints].

First:

No drug is approved by the FDA for the treatment of PE. However, numerous studies have shown that SSRIs and drugs with SSRI-like side effects are safe and effective to treat this condition, and many physicians use these agents for this purpose.

[Think what other meds have been used off-label--say the Pill--and the difference in attitudes. Women can't possibly make beneficial health decisions on their own, and need the (preferably moral) "protection" of assorted busy-bodies. Men, on the other hand, not so much.]

Second: In the study, most men (those able to stay the course) took 7.3 minutes to ejaculate after beginning intercourse. The average time to climax for a female varies but averages 12-25 min. You do the math.