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NEWS RELEASE

Thursday, October 23, 2003
For immediate release

Contact:
Christa Dickey
cdickey@acsm.org

STEROIDS THREATEN HEALTH OF ATHLETES AND INTEGRITY OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE
American College of Sports Medicine Calls for Increased Vigilance in Identifying and Eradicating Steroid Use

INDIANAPOLIS - The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) today condemned the development and use of new "designer" steroids. ACSM considers chemicals, such as the recently identified Tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, developed and cloaked to avoid detection by doping tests, as serious threats to the health and safety of athletes, as well as detriments to the principle of fair play in sports. Any effort to veil or disguise steroid use in sports through stealth, designer, or precursor means, puts elite, amateur and even recreational athletes at risk.

The health risks associated with steroid use are severe. Anabolic steroid use has been implicated in early heart disease, including sudden death, the increase of bad cholesterol profiles (increased LDL, lower HDL), an increase in tendon injuries, liver tumors, testicular atrophy, gynecomastia (abnormal enlargement of breasts in males), male pattern baldness, severe acne, premature closure of growth plates in adolescents, emotional disturbances and other significant health risks. The health risks of designer steroids compared to or beyond symptoms of anabolic steroid use are currently unknown.

"No one knows the extent of this yet," said Gary I. Wadler, M.D., FACSM. "If there is one great concern that THG has exposed, it's the potential that other non-detectable anabolic steroids may be in the pipeline. The scientific and public health implications of this issue are quite disconcerting." Wadler, an ACSM sports medicine physician who serves on the Health, Medical and Research Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and is a leading international authority on doping in sports, says the appearance of these new drugs and their use models dangerous behavior, potentially causing physical and psychological damage to young athletes.

ACSM calls for national compliance with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) regulations and to the World Anti-doping Code. Further, the College stresses the need for "clean" athletes, those not taking performance-enhancing drugs or supplements, to publicly deplore the use of steroids among their teammates and peers. ACSM underscores the critical leadership role clean athletes can take in disavowing performance-enhancing drug use and advocating fair play to protect the integrity of sports competition. Other individuals who influence young athletes, such as parents and coaches, should establish a no-tolerance policy for performance-enhancing substances, and intervene whenever necessary.

In the past 20 years, sports governing bodies have made substantial efforts to eradicate steroid use. Drug testing implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, for example, has been instrumental in decreasing the use of steroids among college athletes. Last year, ACSM called for mandatory testing for steroid use in Major League Baseball. (ACSM's Position Stand, "The Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids in Sports," ACSM condemns the use of these drugs among athletes. To read a copy of this Position Stand, please visit http://www.acsm-msse.org). Yet, information gathered very recently, over just the past few years, indicates an upward trend in steroid use among amateur athletes at the college and even high school levels.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 International, National, and Regional members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.

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