Discussing the risks of steroids

Performance-enhancing drugs pose serious risks. We need to be educated about their ills

Former Olympic athletes painted a grim picture this week about the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in Dubai. Some have claimed that these drugs – which include anabolic steroids, human growth hormones and testosterone – are widely available in this country, despite bans in places such as the United States and the European Union. As The National reported yesterday, Dubai is at risk of becoming known as a trading and staging post for athletes looking to artificially boost their performance.

While these drugs can have legitimate medical purposes, they have many negative side effects. Abusing steroids can increase the risk of developing long-term health problems such as heart, kidney and liver disease and there may also be shorter-term and severe consequences such as mood swings, irritability and depression.

For obvious reasons, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is also banned in sporting competitions around the world. However, some young people are attracted to these drugs because they believe them to be a shortcut to success and allow users to make dramatic improvements much faster.

They also carry with them an odd sort of counterintuitive cool in some quarters, imbued as they are with both the danger of illicit activity and the knowledge that known cheats such as Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong have previously conquered their sports and the world via doping. The reality is something more prosaic: drug use will only hurt the user in the long run.

Despite all this, some gyms are still promoting and selling these drugs. Last year, the Department of Economic Development worked with the National Anti-Doping Committee to carry out an awareness campaign targeting gym goers and owners. While such efforts are needed, more must be done to address the issue. The bodybuilding community needs to collaborate with the authorities to inform the public about the dangers of these drugs. More than that, we all need to have an open debate about the dangers these drugs pose – and that discussion must start in communities and schools around the country.