Young men prefer steroids over workouts to improve body shape, By: Richard Alleyne
09/13/06
Young men are increasingly turning to anabolic steroids as a short cut to the perfect body, a charity claimed yesterday.
A nationwide survey by Drugscope found that the performance-enhancing substances had crossed over from athletes and body builders to the mainstream as men wanted to look good on the beach or the dancefloor without putting in too much effort.
The organization, which publishes the magazine Drug-link, said the popularity of the class C drug had soared in the last year, as men used it for purely aesthetic reasons.
Drug workers said they were increasingly seeing a wide cross-section of society, from young professionals to labourers to students aged between 16 and 25, using the drug to achieve the muscled, toned physique of their sporting heroes.
Although the dealing of the drug is illegal, possession is not. However the drug charity gave warning of very serious side effects, including reduced sperm count, kidney and liver problems, high blood pressure and increased aggression. The injection of the drug also increases the risks of blood-born diseases including HIV and hepatitis.
Harry Shapiro, a spokesman for Drugscope, said: "This is all about image. For the first time we have reports of significant steroid use among men wanting to look good without putting in too much effort.
"This is not about bodybuilding or running faster, it is purely about looking good on the dancefloor."
Mike Linnell of Lifeline, which runs a needle exchange project in Manchester, said he had seen the number of steroid-using clients grow from one or two a week six years ago to around 40 a week.
He said: "The number of young men using steroids for aesthetic reasons has grown significantly. It's all about how they look. But a lot of them are taking steroids with virtually no knowledge of what they are doing."
Martin Barnes, the chief executive of Drugscope, said: "The rise in the number of young men misusing steroids seems to be in response to a growing obsession with the ideal body image.
"There are serious risks associated with steroid misuse, but people may ignore the dangers or not seek help because they do not consider themselves drug users.
"Gyms, drug and health services should provide more information and practical support for young people exposed to steroid misuse." The research found that steroids were a significant player in drug markets in 11 of the 20 towns and cities surveyed: Blackpool, London, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Torquay, Cardiff, Manchester, Portsmouth, Luton and Newcastle.
Alex Georgijev, an ex-police officer who was in the television show Gladiators, and who now runs The Edge gym in Caerphilly, south Wales, said: "Gone are the days when steroid use was a little subculture. It's like the air-brushed images in women's magazines – guys are being forced to believe they need a six-pack and a good set of arms. But people are not willing to accept that if you do want muscles you have to put the hard work in. People come in and ask how much it is to train. The next sentence is how much are steroids, it's their first consideration rather than their last. They would rather spend their money on steroids than nutrition."
Another trend picked up by the survey is the rise of a modern form of "speedballing" – injecting a mixture of crack cocaine and heroin. Growing numbers of addicts are using the potentially deadly cocktail, it found.
