By Admin – Steroidal.com
Anabolic steroid use is exploding in the United Kingdom, with current reports and statistics putting the number at up to 1m regular users.
Much like many countries we’ve followed, anabolic steroid use is increasing dramatically in the UK, with more and more people looking to performance and image-enhancement drugs (PEIDs) to change their appearance.
Not only are bodybuilders and athletes using anabolic steroids, but recreational users wanting bigger biceps or six-pack abs leading to the summer.
Interviews with drug workers, academics, doctors and former and current steroid users, state that usage is no longer isolated to massive bodybuilders or elite level athletes. But has now moved to mainstream usage by young males seeking anabolic help.
In a recent report by Sky News, Peter Burkinshaw of Public Health England (PHE) stated that there is a growing issue and it needs to be tackled.
“More does need to be done, this is a growing issue, there are significant health harms associated with steroids,” he said.
National needle exchanges, where substance abusers can obtain sterile injecting equipment such as, syringes, alcohol swabs, barrels and needles, have also reported a sharp rise in steroid users.
Drug workers in sites across England, has said that children as young as 13 have obtained and used anabolic steroids. At 13-years of age, the steroid related side effects could be extremely severe and leave permanent negative effects.
Joseph Keane, who runs The Bridge drugs project in Bradford said: “It’s all to look good on a Friday night, and it is predominantly 15 to 25-year-olds.
“I have had a 15-year-old injecting steroids straight into his chest, and I have heard anecdotally of guys as young as 13,” he explained.
With anabolic steroid use being legal to use and a Class C controlled substances, even police officers and those in the Army have been found to use steroids for image-enhancement and to increase athletic performance.
Sky News tracked down a former police officer who left the force once his anabolic steroid abuse had become known, after he faced disciplinary charges.
The unnamed police officer said: “I’m a police officer and I look like a comic book hero, and I’m in a costume. Nine times out of 10 my sheer presence alone was enough to defuse a situation,” he said.
To confirm the booming use of anabolic steroids, all you have to do is look at recent Home Office seizure rates.
Individual seizures of steroids and PEDs stood at 35% higher in 2014, compared to the year previously. Whilst the incidences of steroid being confiscated and destroyed went up, so did the amount of anabolic steroid seized. The number of actual steroid doses rose by 70% in 2014 to 2.5million dosage units, up from 1.5m in 2013.
Anabolic steroids are legal to possess for “personal use”, something the Home Office finds hard to determine. Importation via the post or concealed in freight is illegal. Trafficking, selling, manufacturing or dealing is punishable by fines and imprisonment.
Estimates put steroid users at 1m, and chances are, if you frequent the gym or are into fitness and health, you have come across a steroid user.
It should be noted that anabolic steroid cause a number of temporary and permenant side effects, often worsened by increasing steroid doses and combining compounds. Steroids side effects include; gynecomastia, cholesterol impairment, liver and kidney stress, roid rage, testosterone inhibition, erectile dysfunction, testicular shrinkage, acne, hair loss and prostate enlargement.
Source:
Kelso, P. (January 7, 2015). One Million Britons May Use Steroids Regularly. Retrieved from http://news.sky.com/story/1403431/one-million-britons-may-use-steroids-regularly
