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Anabolic steroids have different legal statuses in different parts of the world. In Britain, AS became subject to the control of The Misuse of Drugs Act on 1 November 1996. They are now categorized as class C drugs and possible penalties for offences are 5 years imprisonment, or an unlimited fine, or both. These restrictions mean that although it is legal to possess AS in quantities for personal use, it is illegal to produce, to supply, or to possess, import or export with intent to supply these substances, without the authority to do so. However, the legislation is vague with regard to the quantities of AS that are deemed as dealer amounts.

In other countries across the world it is still possible to purchase AS legally ‘over the counter’. As yet there is limited research comparing the prevalence of AS use between countries where AS are available over the counter and countries where the drugs have to be obtained illicitly and it is unknown whether there are any significant differences between the patterns of AS use.

The USA has an entirely different system of legislation regarding AS. In the USA, AS are classified as schedule III controlled substances under federal law (Taylor, 1991). This legislation was introduced in 1990 as a result of concerns about the health implications of AS use. This legislation means that it is illegal to distribute AS or to possess with intent to distribute AS without a valid prescription. In the USA, the manufacture, distribution, importation, exportation and dispensing of AS is controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid

Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid

The small size of this community and its regular participation in drugs tests would lead many to believe that it should be easier to obtain relatively accurate prevalence data. However, despite these preconceptions it may in fact be more difficult to assess the prevalence of AS use in this community than in other populations. Severe penalties are imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and many other sporting bodies if the use of AS is detected. The penalties of a positive drugs test may also have serious repercussions for the public image and financial situation of the athletes and their sport. For these reasons it may be difficult to get AS-using athletes to admit to their drug use, and to give honest responses to questions about the drug use within their area of sport. It is also difficult to rely on the  number of positive drugs tests to determine prevalence of AS use. A variety of methods have been used by athletes to avoid detection in drugs tests. The use of masking agents, catheterization of urine, sample substitution and sample manipulation are just a few of the methods previously used (Voy, 1991; Mottram, 1996).

An additional difficulty encountered when relying upon positive drug test results to indicate prevalence rates for AS use is related to the way in which these substances are used. Anabolic steroids may be used during pre-competition training periods, and if the athlete ceases to use these substances in enough time before a competition drug test  detection they may avoid the detection of illicit substances (Goldman and Klatz, 1992). Thus, the positive drug test data do not provide an overall view of the use of AS among the athletic community (Dubin, 1990). It has been  suggested that out-of-competition drug testing may combat this type of behaviour. However, the success of out-of-competition testing in reducing the international spread of AS use in sport depends upon international co-operation. If certain countries are proceeding with out-of-competition testing when others are not, there could be difficulties in maintaining fair competition at international sporting events. Other difficulties in the implementation of such a strategy are related to the diligence with which each country implements this type of testing regime. The financial burdens that may be created by such a scheme could present difficulties for Third-World or developing countries. This problem was highlighted as early as 1990 when the Dubin Report (1990) suggested that perhaps Canada should not compete against countries where out-of-competition testing did not occur. It also suggested that the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) should provide financial support to countries in which out-of-competition testing may be difficult to conduct because of technical difficulties and financial costs.

A study of the prevalence of doping in sports in Norway from 1977 to 1995 (Bahr and Tjornhom, 1998) showed that an increase in the frequency of doping tests was associated with a decrease in the percentage of positive samples in targeted sports. This study involved a total of 15,208 athletes, most of whom belonged to national federations under  the jurisdiction of the Norwegian Confederation of Sport (NCS), and it is interesting to note that 90% of the tests performed were unannounced.

In the past, AS have been frequently associated with strength-dependent sports such as weightlifting and wrestling. It has been suggested that certain athletes may use AS in the belief that this is the only way in which they can compete with drug-using competitors (Heikkala, 1993; Black and Pape, 1997). It would be logical to assume that this type of  drug use may be selfperpetuating in that participants in sports previously associated with a high prevalence of AS use are more likely to use AS for this reason. However, the use of AS is not exclusive to these types of sports, and reports of  AS use by swimmers, cyclists and sprinters have been frequent (George, 1996a; Verroken, 1996). Some of the potential effects of AS use are clearly more beneficial to certain sports than others. Thus it would be expected that the  prevalence rates for AS use in sports such as figure skating, where high muscle mass, or ‘bulk’, is not a crucial factor for success, might be less than in the more conventional strength sports such as weightlifting (Yen and Jaffe, 1978; Francis, 1990).

The actual prevalence rates of AS use among elite athletes are believed to be high (Dubin, 1990). In a testimony about the use of AS by US athletes between the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, Pat Connolly declared that at least 40% of the women’s team in Seoul had probably used steroids at some time in their preparations for the games. This again  highlights the issue of out-of-competition use of AS.

A prevalence study of powerlifters in the USA (Curry and Wagman, 1999) reviewed the use of AS among 28 members of teams of US powerlifters. Of the 15 members that returned the postal questionnaires, 10 admitted using AS, and five admitted they had evaded the IOC’s doping control procedures while using AS.

Scarpino et al. (1990) carried out research about the prevalence of doping among Italian athletes. Their work involved 1015 Italian athletes and 216 coaches, doctors and managers. Results showed that over 10% of the athletes admitted to frequent use of AS at national- and international-level sport. It is interesting that 62% of the athletes that  acknowledged doping stated that there was pressure from coaches and managers to use doping methods to improve performance. The research also stated that 70% of the athletes felt that access to illegal substances was easy.

Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid

Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid

Use of AS by males seems to be more prevalent globally than among females. Many of the studies into the effects of AS have focused almost entirely upon male subjects (Buckley et al., 1988; Su et al., 1993; Cooper et al., 1996). Statistics for the prevalence of AS use among males in the UK suggest that an estimated 9% of males attending gyms have used AS (Korkia and Stimson, 1993). In the USA, Yesalis et al. (1993b) used data from the 1991 National Household survey on Drug Use to perform a national study of prevalence of AS use. From a total of 32,594 respondents 0.9% of the males (compared to 0.1% of females) had used AS at some stage of their lives. Also in the USA, a study involving over 1600 college athletes was conducted to estimate the level of their competitors’ AS use (Yesalis et al., 1993b). The mean overall projected rate of any prior use of AS across all sports surveyed was 14.7% for male athletes and 5.9% for female athletes.

A study of the prevalence of drug use among Finnish male prisoners was conducted by Korte et al. in 1995. This study was undertaken at four prisons, where 354 prisoners responded to the survey; 3.7% of the respondents stated they had taken AS while in their current prison. Prisoners aged 25 years and younger were found to have a significantly higher rate of drug use. As yet, similar studies of prison populations in the UK have not been carried out. However, the Finnish study suggests that AS use may be prevalent even in the controlled environment of prisons.

Male body-builders have been frequently associated with AS use (O’Connor, 1995). Various studies have shown that use of AS occurs at the competitive, amateur and recreational levels (Tricker et al., 1989; Delbeke et al., 1995; Lenehan et al., 1996). It is perhaps important to mention that the discovery of AS use by a recreational or amateur  body-builder may be less damaging, in terms of the implications on the career and financial situation of the individual involved, than it would be to a professional/elite-level athlete. In a study of AS use in the north-west of England it was found that the greatest proportion of the sample (N = 386) was involved in competitive or recreational body-building (94.5% in total), whereas the number of AS users involved in competitive sport was considerably lower (1.8%)  (Lenehan et al., 1996). Although this does not provide conclusive evidence that AS use is more prevalent in  body-building than in competitive sport, it does suggest that converse to public perception (Nocelli et al., 1998),  doping methods are apparent in amateur and recreational sports, and not restricted to elite-level sport.

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Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid

Research suggests that a smaller number of adult females use AS than males (Korkia and Stimson, 1993; Lenehan et al., 1996). As yet there are no studies that provide reasons for this difference, and studies regarding the prevalence of AS use among females are scarce. It may be that societal issues such as perceptions of the ‘ideal’ female body image are related to the lower frequency in the population of female AS users. Other factors that may be related to the lower use of AS may include the reluctance of females to be seen as using methods of doping, particularly those methods, such as use of AS, that are associated with potentially masculinizing side-effects.

Since AS were first synthesized, the roles of women have undergone a series of changes. The 1960s saw a new attitude towards many ‘old’ values. It is speculated that the first females to use AS for enhancement of sporting performance were elite-level athletes from the Eastern Bloc countries (Yesalis et al., 1993b). Positive tests for AS have been  reported for a number of females in sporting competitions ( Jennings, 1996; Wallechinsky, 1996). However, studies into use of AS by women are infrequent. The number of women that want to be involved in research might be small as a  result of reluctance of women to admit to drug use (Strauss et al., 1985; Korkia et al., 1996), and it might be that this is related to issues of child care and the traditional feminine image (Duda, 1986b).

Conventional and media representations of the ‘ideal’ female body tend not to be well muscled (Lenskyj, 1986;  Cashmore, 1990). Muscles are generally equated with masculinity (Rosenkrantz et al., 1968) and females involved in
stereotypically masculine sports are not viewed positively (Kane and Snyder, 1989). However, since the 1960s  women’s roles have become more varied and the women’s movement has been influential in the struggle against the
stereotyping of females. Women are now able to compete in a wide variety of sports and to pursue careers that were previously restricted to males.

A range of occupations in which strength and muscularity are desirable have now become viable career options for women. These women are now under the same pressure as men not to be tempted into using AS to improve their ability to perform in their job. Occupations such as the armed forces, in which females may now be in active combat, and the security business, where females may be employed as door staff and security guards, are pertinent examples.

The medical uses of AS in the treatment of women are diverse. These drugs have been used to treat female to male transsexuals (Westaby et al., 1977), and for the treatment of a variety of disorders. Anabolic steroids and other testosterone-derived treatments carry the risk to females of permanent sideeffects such as deepening of the voice, clitoral enlargement, increased growth of facial and body hair and reduction in breast size (Strauss et al., 1985; Korkia et al., 1996), and this has led to their limited use in the treatment of women. The principle behind the use of  testosterone and testosteronederived drugs is that these substances may neutralize the effects of oestrogen. Hoberman and Yesalis (1995) report that advertisements for male hormone treatment have been included in medical journals since the early 1920s, when these treatments were used in attempts to alleviate female conditions such as menstrual problems and breast conditions, including tumours.

Testosterone therapy was used to treat women in the 1940s with breast cancer. These treatments are still used today for women suffering from post-menopausal androgen-dependent breast cancer (Hoberman and Yesalis, 1995). A  consequence of the research in the 1940s was that it was observed that the testosterone treatment served to increase the women’s sex drive, appetite and general feelings of well-being. Testosterone therapies were also used to increase the libido in women, but this type of treatment is not current standard medical practice.

As mentioned previously, the number of adolescent females using AS appears to be increasing at a faster rate than any other group of AS users (Yesalis et al., 1997). Other studies of the prevalence of AS use among adolescents have also documented the use of AS by female adolescents (Handelsman and Gupta, 1997; Faigenbaum et al., 1998; Lambert et al., 1998). This is particularly worrying because this group of users may be at a high risk of developing adverse  symptoms as a consequence of their AS use, some of which may be irreversible, such as deepening of the voice and clitoral enlargement (Strauss et al., 1985). It has been claimed that females are more sensitive to AS than males  (Buckley et al., 1988); the basis of this claim stems from the fact that AS are derivatives of the male hormone testosterone, and this hormone is responsible for the development and maintenance of male secondary sexual characteristics and is found only in very small amounts in women.

Korkia and Stimson (1997) conducted a prevalence study involving 21 gyms in England, Scotland and Wales. They found that 2.3% of the women (N = 1667) had used AS in the past and 1.4% were currently using AS. A study of AS use in the north-west of England (Lenehan et al., 1996) showed that of the 386 respondents interviewed, all of whom were attending gyms in the area studied, seven were women. This is a small percentage of the total number of AS users, although it is representative only of those women that admitted to using AS. All of these women were involved in competitive body-building.

Body-building is frequently perceived to be a sport closely related to the use of AS (Ryan, 1981; Duda, 1986b; Tricker et al., 1989), and public perceptions of body-builders tend to be varied (Klein, 1984; Kane, 1988). The first female body-building competition was held in 1977 in Ohio, USA (Duff and Hong, 1984), and female body-building  competitions are now held in many countries around the world. There are a limited number of studies about female body-builders but ‘underground’ steroid handbooks, generally written by and for those involved in the AS-using  culture, seem to suggest that AS use is not restricted to male body-builders (Duchaine, 1989; Hart, 1993). Often these texts suggest that women use lower doses of AS than men.

A study of needle exchanges in the Merseyside and Cheshire regions of England showed that the number of female AS users attending needleexchange schemes had decreased between 1992 and 1996 (Birtles, 1998). This reduction in attendance presents a cause for concern as it may be representative of women feeling excluded from drug agencies. However, it may also reflect a reduction in the number of females using AS. Awiah et al. (1990) have also reported that many women drug users are reluctant to attend drug agencies. Studies have shown that certain females do inject AS (Strauss et al., 1985; Korkia et al., 1996), and thus the needle-exchange figures may be a misrepresentation of the actual numbers of females injecting AS.

Anabolex Dianabol Dbol D bol Methandrostenolone Steroid