Page 127 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 17 February 1993
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The committee went on:
While it is clear that steroid abuse has significant adverse effects, both physical and psychological, the Committee's concern projects far beyond the harm that can be suffered by the individual users.
The damage extends to personal relationships, family breakdown, financial loss, criminal assault and violence at social venues such as nightclubs.
The deleterious effects of steroid use are affecting Australian society to a noticeable extent and could escalate in the future unless effective controls are put in place at both Commonwealth and State levels. The potential deleterious effects of steroids are compounded by the significant number of people consuming them. Usage rates vary but are very high amongst the high-risk activities of weightlifting, powerlifting and body building. Among nationally competitive body builders usage would be about 100 per cent.
You cannot do better than that. These findings were borne out locally by statements made by Mr Jamie Costin, the proprietor of Canberra's Jets Fitness and Health Club, in the June 1992 issue of the Bulletin. He said that there is "a flourishing black market" amongst high school students from private and state schools near his Kingston gym. He estimated that between 15 and 20 per cent of teenagers at his gym take anabolic steroids. Mr Costin went on to say:
Steroid use is a definite problem and will probably get worse. What is surprising is how much younger the people who want them are. If you go back six years it was the guys in their 20s who were considering taking steroids; now they're getting younger.
The alarming growth in the use of steroids was highlighted in the Australian Customs Service research paper entitled "The Threat to the Customs Barrier from Anabolic Steroids". This report indicated that the steroid scene was much larger than originally thought. It seems that the perception that only elite athletes and body builders use steroids is invalid. Steroid use appears widespread amongst recreational sportspersons, including recreational body builders. This means that steroids are being used for cosmetic rather than competitive purposes. Queensland's statistics show that 30 to 40 per cent of recreational body builders and up to 80 per cent of nightclub bouncers are taking anabolic steroids. It is easy to see the appeal to teenagers. The "best" bodies at the gym are regularly those moulded around anabolic steroids, and it is tempting to take the quick route to the perfect pectorals. Teenagers see biceps, not side effects, it appears.
Currently it is illegal to import anabolic steroids into Australia without approval, but the Australian Customs Service has no authority to seize steroids that have been manufactured locally or imported legally and then introduced into the sporting community at that level. Customs officers and police continue to be presented with the dilemma of often having to leave quantities of such steroids with offenders after seizing any illegally imported steroids. Distinguishing between local, counterfeit and imported steroids is a very real problem for these people.
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