Why Australia should stop ramping up their steroid laws and help users instead

Abstract

<p>There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that people in Australia are increasingly using performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs). While the use of PIEDs has traditionally been limited to elite athletes and professional bodybuilders, it has become abundantly clear that it has become a mainstream choice for men and women in order to gain muscle, to become leaner and fitter, or to get stronger. Particularly worrisome is that a significant amount of young Australian men are consuming a range of PIEDs, including steroids and human growth hormone, in order to bulk up and to improve their appearance in general (Dunn & White, 2011; Iversen et al., 2013). </p><p> A number of population studies have shown that the use of PIEDs in Australia is relatively low (see Dunn et al., 2014; Seear et al., 2015). For example, the Australia’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported that only 0.1% of the population have used steroids in the past year - these figures are similar for substances such as heroin, GHB and Ketamine. Despite the apparently relatively low prevalence of use, academics and experts believe that the real figure is much higher: basing this on the dramatic increase of PIEDs detected at the border (Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, 2016) and the amount of users accessing needle and syringe programs (NSP) in Australia (Dunn et al., 2016). The Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey, for instance, reports that nationally the prevalence of PIEDs as the drug last injected increased from 2% in 2009 to 7% in 2013 (Chow et al., 2014). Increases in NSP attendances by steroid users were particularly evident in New South Wales (NSW) (4% in 2009 to 11% in 2013) and Queensland (1% in 2009 to 13% in 2013). Interestingly, the largest increases in steroid use appear to have occurred in two jurisdictions with the toughest steroid legislation in the country.</p>