TO one in three Singapore men aged 40 and above, duration does matter.

This emerged from a straw poll survey of 109 men. The survey on staying power during sex showed that more than half of the men ranked the ease or speed of getting an erection as the most important condition for satisfactory lovemaking.

Duration of lovemaking was ranked the second most important condition.

About four in 10 men ranked it number two.

Mr Lim (not his real name), 60, a tutor, has been using erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs for three years.

He said: “My primary concern is to be able to do it.

“Once I can perform, endurance to me means as long as my wife and I are both happy, it’s enough already.”

By enough, he said anything from 10 to 15 minutes was good.

The survey results also showed that among men with ED, more than half of them had erections that lasted no more than 5 minutes.

Seven in 10 men surveyed who expressed dissatisfaction with their sex lives did not do anything about it.

Only three in 10 consulted a doctor, two in 10 used an ED drug, and about two in 10 consulted a friend.

Said Dr Michael Wong, president of the Singapore Urology Association: “There has never been a better time to speak about ED and the available treatments, in order to offer real help to men and their partners.

“We need to make sure they are aware that they can rediscover a truly satisfying sexual performance.”

The survey was conducted by Bayer Schering Pharma among 109 men aged 40 and above on 13 Jun at the Restore The Man Mandarin public forum, and outside Outram Park MRT station on 16 Jun.

This article was first published in The New Paper