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Anabolic Steroids
Roids, Juice
What are anabolic steroids?
Anabolic steroids are drugs that mimic the effects of the naturally produced hormone, testosterone.
When users take anabolic steroids, the body stops producing testosterone naturally.
Anabolic steroids should not be confused with corticosteroids, a different type of steroid drug that is
commonly prescribed for a variety of conditions.
What do steroids look like?
Steroids usually come in liquid, pill or capsule form. They can also be found in cream or gel form.
How do people take steroids?
Steroids are either swallowed, injected into the user’s muscle, or rubbed onto the skin.
Anabolic steroids are usually taken in courses lasting a number of weeks.
Why do people take steroids?
Anabolic steroids are taken for their performance enhancing qualities, and because they stimulate muscle growth.
It has been claimed that taking anabolic steroids has enabled users to train harder and for longer, to recover from
training more quickly, and to build muscle mass faster, when taken alongside intensive training.
Blenheim Central Office , Cantilever Court, 212 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 2JU
Tel: 020 7582 2200
Email: [email protected]
What are the risks?
Steroids may make users feel paranoid, irritable, aggressive or even violent. Unwanted physical effects include a
reversible decrease in sperm count and size of testes for men, as well as hair loss and the development of breast
tissue. A course of anabolic steroids causes the body to stop producing testosterone naturally; a further course of
medication (or Post Cycle Therapy) is required to stimulate the body’s production.
Women have reported an increased sex drive, menstrual problems, the development of facial hair, deepening of
the voice, enlargement of the clitoris and a decrease in breast size. These effects tend to be irreversible, even once
steroids are no longer being used.
In addition, anabolic steroids can lead to an increased risk of coronary heart disease because of raised blood
pressure and cholesterol levels, increased risk of personality disorders, psychosis and mood disorders, particularly
manic symptoms.
For younger users, anabolic steroids may disrupt growth.
Negative effects can be increased when different types of steroids are used together, known as ‘stacking’. Much of
users’ information about steroids and doses comes from fellow users, but potencies and purities can differ among
steroids and often this information is not based on research.
Anabolic steroids bought on the black market are of an unknown quality and safety, as substandard and counterfeit
steroids are not uncommon.
Risks are associated with injecting any drugs, including risk of infection. Advice should be sought on safer injecting
practices. Steroids tablets can cause more damage to your liver and may be more toxic to your kidneys than
injectable steroids.
Are anabolic steroids addictive?
Whether addiction to steroids can occur is debatable, but there is evidence for dependence and withdrawal
syndrome. Steroids can be psychologically addictive, when users believe that they cannot perform well enough
without taking them. There are reports of users feeling depressed and less energetic after stopping taking anabolic
steroids, causing users to continue taking them.
What is the law?
Anabolic steroids are Prescription Only drugs under the Medicines Act which means a doctor’s prescription is
needed to obtain them from a pharmacy.
Anabolic steroids are also Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Possession for personal use is not an
offence as long as they are in a medicinal form and are not counterfeit. It is an offence to supply them, punishable
by up to five years in prison, and/or a fine.
Updated September 2015
Blenheim Central Office , Cantilever Court, 212 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 2JU
Tel: 020 7582 2200
Email: [email protected]