The abuse of steroids is prevalent in today’s society where the usage of steroids is no longer restricted to body builders and professional sportsmen. The usage of steroids is also catching up with school and college-going children and even business professionals. Usage ofsteroids is not harmful but the fact that a large population of the new users (particularly children) makes use of steroids without obtaining required knowledge about the same is highly concerning.

Nowadays, steroids are easily available over the Internet, health food stores,gymnasiums, and through mail orders. This is one of the biggest reasons why more and more people are able to place their hands on steroids.

The 2002 “Monitoring the Future” study reveled that there has been a significant rise in the number of steroids among the school age children community from 1991-2002. In this survey, 22 percent of 8th graders, 33.2 percent of 10th graders, and 46.1 percent of 12th graders said that it is “fairly easy” for them to obtain steroids. These statistics are highly alarming as an easy access available in reach of young children is a concerning fact in itself.

The “Monitoring the Future” study revealed that the abuse of steroids is considered to be one of the greatest concerns confronting school aged children. In a survey in 1999, it was revealed that as much as 479,000 students worldwide or 2.9 percent of total student population had used one or other steroid by the last year of high school. Likewise, the percentage of 12th graders who are of the view that steroids are harmful to health saw a decline of 6 percent and went down from 68 to 62 percent.

As per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, almost 1,084,000 adult Americans admitted using steroids at one point or another. It was also revealed that males use steroids than their female counterparts but the thin line of advantage presently gained by men can soon go in the favor of female who are resorting to steroids to reduce body fat. In the year 1997, as much as 175,000 teenage girls admitted using anabolic steroids at least once in the past year, which showed an increase of 100 percent since 1991.

As per the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) survey in 2001, 5 percent of all high school students admitted that they took steroids without a qualified doctor’s approval and prescription. In addition to that, 5.8 percent of 8th graders, 4.9 percent of 10th graders, and 4.3 percent of 12th graders admitted lifetime illegal usage of steroids.

All the above statistics clearly show that the young population is showing a bent for steroidsin aim to enhance their body performance and build muscle mass. In their aim to do so, they forget that steroids can be harmful and may pose a danger to their healthy, body, and even life.

In order to control these alarming statistics, the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 putanabolic steroids into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. This means that the sale of possession of anabolic steroids, without a doctor’s prescription, is illegal in eyes of the law. The penalty for illicitly obtaining these steroids is a maximum of one year along with a minimum penalty of $1,000 for the first-time offense. In addition to that, the maximum penalty for steroid trafficking is five years and a fine of $250,000 for a first-time felony offense. If the reported incident is a second offense, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of $500,000. These penalties are imposed for Federal Offenses and the individual states of the United States of America have implemented penalties and fine for illegal usage of anabolic steroids.

It has been revealed that many of these individual on steroids can self-administer anabolic steroids when given an opportunity. The fact that many of them will stay addicted to steroids despite physical ailments and negative effects of steroids on social relationships is also a matter of great concern. Furthermore, it was found that most of the steroid users spend large amounts of their money and time obtaining steroids is more than an indication of their addiction severity.

Now that we have talked of steps taken to eliminate or at least minimize usage of steroidsamong children, let us move our focus to steps taken for keeping steroids away fromprofessional sports.

Many sport governing bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC),National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Basketball Association, National Football League, Major League Baseball, and ICC(International Cricket Council), FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) have banned the use of steroids by sportsmen. The bans have find a place in the guidelines books of these and many other association as steroids come with potentially dangerous side-effects and give an unfair advantage to an individual on steroids. The decision to avoid steroids at gaming events is made to put all sportsmen on a level-playing field so that performances are not enhanced by steroids but motivated by dedicated efforts & perseverance.

Despite of all these statistics going against steroids, one thing that cannot be ignored is the fact that steroids do not pose side-effects until the time they are abused or misused by their users. If the users take them under medical guidance and follow the guidance with a careful usage approach then they can prove to be excellent options for building muscle mass andenhancing body performance.

It is always advisable for all steroid users to make use of legal steroids rather than saving a few dollars with illegal steroids. The usage of illegal steroids can be harmful as these steroidsdo not pass the standards of steroid governing bodies. In short, it can be easily said steroids are not harmful till the time the user fails to make a distinction between what is good or bad for his health, body, and life. It is best to respect steroids and avoid any abuse. After all, it is one’s own health that he plays with an abuse of steroids.

Thank you for : www.e-steroid.com