buying bulk – steroid use in the UK

by Matthew Barbour

buying bulk – steroid use in the UK | help and info

Once the preserve of bodybuilders and cheating sportsmen, anabolic steroids are now becoming mainstream in the UK, with an estimated 250,000 Brits from all walks of life having taken some form of the body-enhancing drugs. According to latest research from charity Drug-Scope, anabolic steroids are now a 'significant' problem in 11 out of the 20 UK cities it analysed, and they are now the third most commonly used drugs by teenage boys, after cannabis and amphetamines.

a hidden problem

But despite the latest research and estimates of steroid abuse, there's still no completely reliable data, because 'juicers' (as they are called) have basically been overlooked, says Dr Rob Dawson, who runs a clinic for steroid abusers in Chester-le-Street. 'Unlike crack addicts, say, men who take steroids are generally healthy, clean-living people,' Dawson explains. 'The medical establishment's been preoccupied with more immediate threats, like crack and heroin, because government drug policy and research is based around criminality – but there's very little crime associated with steroids, so there's no funding.' Steroids are relatively cheap and unlike heroine and crack, most users manage to hold down full time jobs and can afford their habit, he explains. 'Users cross all social and age boundaries, from young guys wanting to look good, to brickies wanting to work harder, to men in their 50s wanting cheap hormone replacement – there is literally no stereotype,' he says.

psychological factors

The emotional make-up of the person taking the drug (the psychological dimension) is also important. There are various psychological theories of addiction. One is the 'self-medication hypothesis'. People who have a profound experience of relief or happiness, or just think they function much better when they take a drug, may want more, particularly if they can't find other ways of tapping into those experiences. So people who are shy or depressed or anxious or traumatised may slip into repeatedly taking a drug and risk addiction. But the catch with this theory is that research also shows that some people who use drugs a lot develop a range of psychological problems which they didn't have before. In other words, it's often hard to know whether the psychological problems led to the drug dependence or vice versa.

Other psychological theories – and there are many – focus, for example, on how we learn to use drugs (for example how we observed our parents using alcohol), and on the powerful associations and rewards that go with taking a drug. There are also psychoanalytical theories, which suggest that drugs and drug-taking are symbolic or symptomatic of conflicts at an unconscious level. Drug-taking might be a defence against unconscious aggression or sexual impulses, some believe, or might help to repress memories of traumatic events such as childhood sexual abuse.

it's only a gym 'thing'!

One recent report, published in the British Medical Journal, estimated that over 9 per cent of regular gym goers were taking some form of performance enhancer, while over half the regulars at some inner city gyms are 'roiding. In fact, Dawson says that perhaps the most worrying trend of recent years is young men taking the steroids who hardly ever step foot in a gym. 'They want a quick fix to look great and sometimes don't even understand that you have to combine the steroids with exercise to see any increase in muscle mass or fat reduction. So they end up sitting on the sofa with bloated faces and bodies and can't understand what's gone wrong.'

Lax law enforcement – it's still illegal to sell steroids in this country, but few police officers pay much attention to the trade - Britain's growing obsession with overgrown bodies, and the availability of steroids over the Internet has created the steroid equivalent of a perfect storm. 'In some of the gyms I've visited, I've been surprised by the sheer predominance of men on steroids,' says Dawson. 'People don't see steroids as such a risk anymore.' In fact, some see them as essential to a perfect body. 'There will be people out tonight in Newcastle who are using steroids, not because they want to run faster or jump further, but just because they want to look good.'

Although the British government banned the production, sale and import of anabolic steroids in 1986, there's still no strategy that recognises the extent of the physical and psychological dangers they cause, adding fuel to the impression that the risk they pose is uncertain and are therefore worth taking. What's for sure is the 1986 ban had little effect on overall use – since the early 1990s, recreational steroid abusers have been society's fastest growing group of drugs users, especially amongst teenagers. In Liverpool, the number of steroid users attending syringe-exchange clinics increased from 26 (1.8 per cent of clients) in 1991 to over 500 last year. And because most needle exchanges only happen during the day, when steroid users are at work, needle sets can be used by up to 20 people. On top of the more publicised health risks, including increasing your risk of stroke, liver disease and prostate cancer, this increased phenomenon of needle sharing raises strong concerns over the spread of HIV and hepatitis B and C. 'The figures we have could literally be the tip of the iceberg,' Dawson says.

Despite the boom in steroid use and the potential dangers involved, less is known about the scale of the problem than with any other controlled drugs. While steroids are banned under the same Misuse of Drugs act that controls the supply of cannabis and cocaine, users do not consider themselves standard drug takers because of the association with fitness and nutrition.

The drugs are not associated with widespread criminality either, so little effort is expended on cutting off the supply lines from Asia, Central America and Europe, where the drugs are largely manufactured. As a result, says Dr Dawson, steroid use is becoming rooted in British culture.

Experts say a mythology has grown up around anabolic steroids, a myth fed by the importance that sports' governing bodies attach to testing for them. In evidence they cite the increased sales of steroids and supplements that usually follow the exposure of high-profile athletes who test positive for drugs, such as the British sprinter Dwain Chambers. The phenomenon was most obvious when elite athletes began testing positive for nandrolone, a substance that boosts endurance.

'These positive tests are like product placement,' said Dr Dawson. 'Adidas pay David Beckham millions to wear their boots, but the drug manufacturers get their products placed for free every time there is a major competition. It would be naive to think each positive drugs test isn't an endorsement of sorts. It proves the product works.

there's nothing sexy about steroids

'For the vast majority, however, they don't work. They put your health at risk yet there has become something sexy about steroids.'

Certainly there is nothing 'sexy' about testicular atrophy, baldness and breast growth – some of the aesthetic side-effects commonly associated with steroid use. Neither are blood disorders or abscesses caused by dirty needles and drugs manufactured in unhygienic environments, yet the rise in steroid use is undeniable.

A study by the University of Glamorgan has identified steroid use by children as young as 14 in south Wales, and found that use of the drugs spanned a wide social spectrum including teachers, police officers and office workers. In Merseyside and Cheshire, meanwhile, steroid users have overtaken opiate users among new clients at local needle exchanges, and a British Medical Association survey of GPs last year found that one in three GPs had encountered patients who used anabolic steroids.

Mick Hart, the British fitness guru from Chesterfield whose steroid-promoting website, mickhart.com, has made him an internet hero to thousands of steroid users around the world, argues that it's better for steroid users to be given proper advice rather than be left in the dark. 'If they can burn fat and add muscle by combining hard work with a little 'gear,' what's the harm?,' he argues. To back his point, Hart even put his 28-year-old son, Chris, on steroids, transforming him from a lumpy young man into a grinning, flexing hunk. Judging by subscription rates for No Bull, Hart's online steroid newsletter marketed toward middle-aged men, the juice business is booming. Last year, No Bull signed on over 20,000 new subscribers. 'I get more than 350 e-mails a day from men all over the world,' Hart says. 'Know what they all say? 'I can't wait to get started.' If they go to their doctor saying they want to know which steroids to take in moderation to add a little bulk, they'll be told to go away. If they come to me, they'll get years of experience.'

(October 2006)

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