French authorities have made a record seizure in 2024, seizing 13 tonnes of honey containing erectile dysfunction drugs.
ADVERTISEMENTFrench customs are sounding the alarm on an illegal substance which is flooding the country in record quantities: “erectile honey”.
Packaged in convenient sticks or shots, the substance contains a mixture of honey and Viagra-like drugs and is sold on the black market in some nightclubs for a few euros each.
Honey is sold “for consumption which is intended to be ‘festive’, but which is above all dangerous”, specifies the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. the customs agency said.
This is because honey sticks often contain sildenafil or tadalafil, which are prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction but can cause side effects when combined with alcohol or other medications, such as against hypertension.
The sticks “may appear harmless to them or even, in the case of honey, trustworthy, but can be dangerous to their health and safety,” customs officials explained.
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Despite the health risks, the popularity of erectile honey appears to have taken off in recent years. French authorities made 131 seizures in 2023, compared to 18 cases in 2019.
The latest seizure constitutes a new record: around 860,000 sticks, or 13 tonnes, of erectile honey. In terms of weight, this is equivalent to a London double-decker bus.
This seizure took place in Marseille in November 2024, when customs officers became suspicious of documents relating to “natural honey” smuggled from Malaysia.
When they tested a few samples, they discovered that the erectile dysfunction drug was mixed.
Erectile honey has been found all over France. In June 2024, customs officers in Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand seized nearly 25,000 sticks.
It usually comes from Malaysia, Turkey, Tunisia or Thailand, the agency said.
