Hard Mints
Two PDE5 inhibitors, compounded, in a tablet that is not absorbed any faster.
An unapproved combination, but each component sits inside its own approved dosing envelope. The pairing lacks evidence; the individual doses are not the problem.
- Price
- $6–$8 / dose
- Verdict
- Proceed carefully
- Sourcing
- Not verified at source
- Last checked
- 2 August 2026
Read this first
We are a competitor of the companies reviewed on this page. That is a conflict of interest and you should read everything here with it in mind. What we can offer against it: every factual claim is drawn from the company's own published material and linked, every clinical criticism applies equally to us where it applies, and we take no affiliate commission or referral fee from anyone named here — including from the retail pharmacies whose generics we rate most highly.
The best-known chewable in this market, and the one where independent testing produced the most useful finding on this page: you chew it, you swallow it, and it is absorbed exactly like a tablet.
Not verified at source
Hims blocks automated access to its pages. This entry draws on Hims’ own published wording as indexed, on independent hands-on review, and on trade coverage, corroborated across more than one source. The dose figures reported for this product varied between sources; treat the strengths below as indicative and confirm what your specific prescription contains.
Reported specifications
- What it is
- Compounded chewable mint-flavoured tablets containing one or two PDE5 inhibitors
- Reported strengths
- Sildenafil 45mg; tadalafil 8.5mg or 11.2mg; vardenafil 11.2mg; or sildenafil 45mg combined with tadalafil
- FDA status
- Compounded. Hims states its Hard Mints offerings are compounded and have not been approved by the FDA.
- How it is taken
- Hims states: “Bite into and chew the mint until you can comfortably swallow it – no water required. Or, if you prefer, you can also take Hard Mints like a pill and swallow whole with water.”
- Absorption
- Independent hands-on review concluded it is eaten, undergoes hepatic metabolism, and takes the same time to work as a swallowed pill — not sublingual
- Format
- Supplied in a pocket tin resembling a breath-mint tin
- Labs or examination
- None described
Our assessment
Start with the finding that reframes this entire product category, because it comes from independent testing rather than from us. A chewable is not a sublingual. You bite it, you swallow it, and it goes down your gut and through your liver exactly as a tablet does. There is no absorption shortcut, and the reviewers who tested it concluded it takes the same amount of time to work as a swallowed pill.
Hims’ own instructions confirm the point without meaning to. They tell you that you can chew the mint, or — if you prefer — swallow it whole with water like an ordinary tablet. A product whose two administration methods are interchangeable is not relying on the route of administration for anything.
So what is the format actually buying? One real thing: you can take it without a glass of water, discreetly, wherever you are. That is a genuine convenience and for some men it matters. What it is not buying is speed, and the wider evidence on that is set out in [our piece on dissolvable ED medication](/journal/does-dissolvable-ed-medication-work-faster) — where a randomised crossover trial found a difference of about seven minutes that did not reach statistical significance, in a formulation that actually was sublingual.
On the medicine itself, the familiar concerns apply. It is compounded, which Hims states plainly, so it carries no FDA approval and the agency has not evaluated it for safety, effectiveness or quality. Where sildenafil and tadalafil are combined, that is two drugs of the same class acting on the same enzyme with additive effects on blood pressure — a pairing no approved product uses and no randomised trial establishes. The individual strengths reported do sit within the approved ceilings for each molecule, which is why this lands where it does on our ladder rather than a tier lower.
One further point, raised by the independent reviewers rather than invented by us, and worth taking seriously. These tablets are designed to look and taste like commercially available breath mints and are supplied in a pocket tin. The risk is accidental ingestion — by a partner, a guest, a household member — including someone taking nitrates for angina, for whom a PDE5 inhibitor can cause a catastrophic drop in blood pressure. If you keep these, keep them where prescription medication belongs rather than where mints belong.
Worth noting how this compares on price too. Six to eight dollars a dose for a compounded chewable, against roughly a dollar a tablet for FDA-approved generic tadalafil at a large retail pharmacy. You are paying several times over for a mint flavour and no water.
Reasonable for
- Men already assessed and screened who genuinely value taking something without water, and who know they are paying for that convenience
- Men who dislike swallowing tablets — though an [approved oral film](/vybrique-reviews) now exists for that
Not for
- Anyone taking nitrates in any form, including recreational ‘poppers’
- Men expecting faster onset — independent testing found it works no faster than a pill
- Households where a mint tin might plausibly be opened by somebody else
- Men who have not had a blood pressure reading or blood work recently
Important
The information on this website is provided for general education and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Erectile dysfunction can be the first sign of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hormonal disorders. Always consult a licensed physician about your individual circumstances, and never start, stop, or change a prescription based on what you read here.
If you want the other thing
A diagnosis, rather than a subscription.
If you have already been assessed and just need a refill, this may serve you well. If nobody has taken your blood pressure in years, that is the appointment to make.