Anabolic steroids are prescription-only medicines. They are not controlled under the misuse of drugs act. It is not illegal to possess them for personal use. It is an offense to supply them. They can only be acquired from a chemist with a doctor's prescription. In addition, there is a large illicit market in anabolic steroids.

The primary use of anabolic-androgenic steroids is in replacement therapy for male testosterone. Other medical uses include growth promotion in certain forms of stunted growth, osteoporosis, mammary car

The most potent sex steroid produced in human males is testosterone. Testosterone has been chemically characterized and more than 100 derivatives synthesized, some of which have found uses in human and veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, and most recently, in athletics. A Purely anabolic steroid has not been found and, therefore, Kockakain suggests that the appropriate nomenclature should refer to anabolic-androgenic steroids.

In 1990 Baldoenzi and Giada conducted a survey and found that 110 out of 250 weightlifters he interviewed in several gymnasiums in the metropolitan Chicago area, many of, which had no intentions of being competitive, also used a variety of anabolic-androgenic steroids. 50 weightlifters were interviewed in detail, a majority had no competitive interests in weightlifting, bodybuilding, or any other athletic event just used the steroids because they wanted to. "Baldoenzi and Giada concluded that anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse had reached alarming proportions in noncompetitive athletes" (Baldoenzi, 1990, p. 205).

Hickson, R.C. and Kurowski, T.G.(1986). Anabolic steroids and training. Clinics in Sports Medicine, 3, 461-469

What do steroids actually do for you? Steroids increase your strength. They also increase your muscle mass and allow you to train harder. Steroids also reduce recovery time needed after training. Some people believe the benefit from taking steroids is psychological, they make people feel that they are stronger or faster. Others believe that they make people feel more aggressive and so they are able to train harder. There is no doubt about that. The major question is "Are the positives worth taking the risks for." There are far more negatives to using anabolic steroids then there are positives. Anabolic steroids affect males in seven major ways: 1) They can make the testicles shrink and deteriorate (even after just six to eight weeks of use) 2) they can reduce sperm count for up to four years 3) they cause the development of tender and enlarged breasts 4) they cause early aging symptoms 5) they cause sterility and impotence 6) also they make your voice high-pitched 7) They cause baldness. Anabolic steroids affect females in eight major ways: 1) They stop or cause irregularity in your menstrual periods 2) they cause permanent

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