GTOman
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Steroids, steroids, steroids!
It’s like you can’t turn on the radio or TV without the word “steroid� being used interchangeably with “scandal� or some baseball player or track athletes’ name. Frankly, it’s making me ill. The way it is being presented by the “don’t confuse us with the facts� media is that steroids are some scourge on society that kills millions and must be addressed. Yet, we have millions of athletes over decades of time using steroids and at best, we can connect a handful of deaths to these compounds. Some poor jock gets accused of using steroids and has his life ruined by the media frenzy, and the major causes of death in the world go ignored. Did you know that medical mistakes kill an estimated 225,000 people per year in the US alone? A recent study published in The Journal of The American Medical Association (2000:284:94) by Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH, showed that in the U.S. there are:
· 12,000 deaths per year from unnecessary surgery
· 7,000 deaths per year from medication errors in hospitals
· 20,000 deaths per year from other errors in hospitals
· 80,000 deaths per year from nosocomial infections in hospitals
· 106,000 deaths per year from adverse effects of medications
The makes medically based mistakes the third leading cause of death in the U.S., second only to heart disease and cancer. And they worry about the dangers of steroids???! And what about other countries? According to a letter published by an anonymous medical professional, in The Journal of Degenerative Disease (February/March 2002: 3(3rd); pages 37-38:
“The British Medical Journal stated March 18, 2000 that, “In Australia, medical error results is as many as 18,000 unnecessary deaths, and more than 50,000 patients become
disabled every year. Studies released in the last 10 years show similar trends in the UK, Canada and New Zealand. New Zealand has a large percentage ratio of adverse drug reactions comparable to the U.S. It should be noted that
the U.S. and New Zealand are the only countries that allow aggressive pharmaceutical drug advertisements.�
How is it this news was barely mentioned by the media, yet the president of the United States began his last State of The Union speech talking about the evils of drugs in sports? Am I missing something? The author of this damning letter goes onto say “Many can pooh-pooh these statistics and claim that to err is human, etc., however there comes a point when one must look deeper. The facts and statistics are too overwhelming to ignore.
Those in power have choices to make. They can rationalize, deny or take responsible action against epidemic iatrogeny*.�
As if this bizarre level of hypocrisy were not enough, now the powers that be in Congress have taken the steps to place the prohormone supplements in the same category as anabolic steroids, making them a scheduled III controlled drug, essentially banning them from the market place. Is this to save our youth from these “evil� supplements?
No, it’s really about money and the pharmaceutical industry’s interests in preventing smaller companies from entering the market place. As a recent government based report entitled "The Economic Characterization of the Dietary Supplement Industry**" casually notes:
“In the past, barriers to entry in dietary supplement product manufacturing were not particularly high, and many small firms entered the industry. Many products, especially herbal and botanical products can be produced in small-scale operations that are not particularly capital-intensive.
However, the barriers to entry are rising and will continue to do so primarily because of the effects of consolidation and the effects of regulation, both federal and self-imposed...In addition, regulation is making it more difficult for small firms to enter the industry. It may be more difficult for these firms to acquire the needed resources to comply with labelling regulations as well as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). Larger pharmaceutical firms that are branching out into dietary supplement product lines will have little trouble complying as their existing products lines in general must conform to stricter regulations."
As one scientist I know puts it: “It's market manipulation disguised as consumer protection.� I could not have said it better myself! Let me make a few final points very clear:
• Doctors and pharm companies play a valuable and essential role in the world, but our priorities are clearly so far off base focusing on steroids or pro hormones, it borders on criminal. The medical establishment should clean its own house before jumping on the anti steroid bandwagon, considering medical based mistakes may be the third leading cause of death in the US.
• Steroids, and perhaps large doses of some of the pro hormone supplements, can have real side effects, but they pale in comparison to the side effects and deaths caused by drugs people take every day, including OTC products people get at the pharmacy without a prescription. Lets get our priorities straight here!
So you are thinking “OK Will, you make some good points, but what is the answer smart guy?� I’m glad you asked! The correct thing to do would have been to ban the sale of pro hormones to anyone under 18 years of age (similar to cigarettes) and put anabolic steroids back where they belong, in the hands of doctors to prescribe them for what ever reason he or she sees fit based on the needs and requests of their patients. Vilifying steroids and pro hormones using shoddy science will do nothing but expand the black market for these compounds. With the crackdown on steroid use by law enforcement, the scheduling of steroids as controlled substances, and the vilifying of steroids by the media, one would think steroids would be hard to come by. The fact it, steroid use is higher today then it was before all these attempts to prevent their use. With the banning of the pro hormones, it’s only going to make the problem worse!
*IATROGENIC [Gk., iatros, physician, genein, to produce], caused by treatment or diagnostic procedures. An iatrogenic disorder is a condition caused by medical personnel or procedures or through exposure to the environment of a health care facility, including fears instilled in patients by remarks or questions of examining physicians. See also: 'nosocomial', (iatrogenesis, iatrogeny, n.) ~Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 5th Edition, 1998
** the full report can be found on the ‘net at:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/ds-econ.pdf
Will Brink:
Author, Columnist and Editor for Bodybuilding, Scientific and Health Journals
R&D and marketing consultant to the health and bodybuilding industry
Trainer of High Level Athletes, police & military personnel
Nutritional Study Protocol Designer
William Brink is a contributing consultant, columnist and writer for various health, bodybuilding and medical publications. He is a well-known trainer who has worked with many high-level athlete’s ranging from professional bodybuilders, pro golfers and fitness contestants to Olympic hammer throwers.
It’s like you can’t turn on the radio or TV without the word “steroid� being used interchangeably with “scandal� or some baseball player or track athletes’ name. Frankly, it’s making me ill. The way it is being presented by the “don’t confuse us with the facts� media is that steroids are some scourge on society that kills millions and must be addressed. Yet, we have millions of athletes over decades of time using steroids and at best, we can connect a handful of deaths to these compounds. Some poor jock gets accused of using steroids and has his life ruined by the media frenzy, and the major causes of death in the world go ignored. Did you know that medical mistakes kill an estimated 225,000 people per year in the US alone? A recent study published in The Journal of The American Medical Association (2000:284:94) by Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH, showed that in the U.S. there are:
· 12,000 deaths per year from unnecessary surgery
· 7,000 deaths per year from medication errors in hospitals
· 20,000 deaths per year from other errors in hospitals
· 80,000 deaths per year from nosocomial infections in hospitals
· 106,000 deaths per year from adverse effects of medications
The makes medically based mistakes the third leading cause of death in the U.S., second only to heart disease and cancer. And they worry about the dangers of steroids???! And what about other countries? According to a letter published by an anonymous medical professional, in The Journal of Degenerative Disease (February/March 2002: 3(3rd); pages 37-38:
“The British Medical Journal stated March 18, 2000 that, “In Australia, medical error results is as many as 18,000 unnecessary deaths, and more than 50,000 patients become
disabled every year. Studies released in the last 10 years show similar trends in the UK, Canada and New Zealand. New Zealand has a large percentage ratio of adverse drug reactions comparable to the U.S. It should be noted that
the U.S. and New Zealand are the only countries that allow aggressive pharmaceutical drug advertisements.�
How is it this news was barely mentioned by the media, yet the president of the United States began his last State of The Union speech talking about the evils of drugs in sports? Am I missing something? The author of this damning letter goes onto say “Many can pooh-pooh these statistics and claim that to err is human, etc., however there comes a point when one must look deeper. The facts and statistics are too overwhelming to ignore.
Those in power have choices to make. They can rationalize, deny or take responsible action against epidemic iatrogeny*.�
As if this bizarre level of hypocrisy were not enough, now the powers that be in Congress have taken the steps to place the prohormone supplements in the same category as anabolic steroids, making them a scheduled III controlled drug, essentially banning them from the market place. Is this to save our youth from these “evil� supplements?
No, it’s really about money and the pharmaceutical industry’s interests in preventing smaller companies from entering the market place. As a recent government based report entitled "The Economic Characterization of the Dietary Supplement Industry**" casually notes:
“In the past, barriers to entry in dietary supplement product manufacturing were not particularly high, and many small firms entered the industry. Many products, especially herbal and botanical products can be produced in small-scale operations that are not particularly capital-intensive.
However, the barriers to entry are rising and will continue to do so primarily because of the effects of consolidation and the effects of regulation, both federal and self-imposed...In addition, regulation is making it more difficult for small firms to enter the industry. It may be more difficult for these firms to acquire the needed resources to comply with labelling regulations as well as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). Larger pharmaceutical firms that are branching out into dietary supplement product lines will have little trouble complying as their existing products lines in general must conform to stricter regulations."
As one scientist I know puts it: “It's market manipulation disguised as consumer protection.� I could not have said it better myself! Let me make a few final points very clear:
• Doctors and pharm companies play a valuable and essential role in the world, but our priorities are clearly so far off base focusing on steroids or pro hormones, it borders on criminal. The medical establishment should clean its own house before jumping on the anti steroid bandwagon, considering medical based mistakes may be the third leading cause of death in the US.
• Steroids, and perhaps large doses of some of the pro hormone supplements, can have real side effects, but they pale in comparison to the side effects and deaths caused by drugs people take every day, including OTC products people get at the pharmacy without a prescription. Lets get our priorities straight here!
So you are thinking “OK Will, you make some good points, but what is the answer smart guy?� I’m glad you asked! The correct thing to do would have been to ban the sale of pro hormones to anyone under 18 years of age (similar to cigarettes) and put anabolic steroids back where they belong, in the hands of doctors to prescribe them for what ever reason he or she sees fit based on the needs and requests of their patients. Vilifying steroids and pro hormones using shoddy science will do nothing but expand the black market for these compounds. With the crackdown on steroid use by law enforcement, the scheduling of steroids as controlled substances, and the vilifying of steroids by the media, one would think steroids would be hard to come by. The fact it, steroid use is higher today then it was before all these attempts to prevent their use. With the banning of the pro hormones, it’s only going to make the problem worse!
*IATROGENIC [Gk., iatros, physician, genein, to produce], caused by treatment or diagnostic procedures. An iatrogenic disorder is a condition caused by medical personnel or procedures or through exposure to the environment of a health care facility, including fears instilled in patients by remarks or questions of examining physicians. See also: 'nosocomial', (iatrogenesis, iatrogeny, n.) ~Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 5th Edition, 1998
** the full report can be found on the ‘net at:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/ds-econ.pdf
Will Brink:
Author, Columnist and Editor for Bodybuilding, Scientific and Health Journals
R&D and marketing consultant to the health and bodybuilding industry
Trainer of High Level Athletes, police & military personnel
Nutritional Study Protocol Designer
William Brink is a contributing consultant, columnist and writer for various health, bodybuilding and medical publications. He is a well-known trainer who has worked with many high-level athlete’s ranging from professional bodybuilders, pro golfers and fitness contestants to Olympic hammer throwers.