The Use of Steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs in...

I have chosen to write my paper on the topic of steroids and performance enhancing substances that are used today in sports. In this paper I hope to focus on the steroids and performance enhancing drugs and how they have become a problem in sports. An anabolic steroid is a substance that is related to male sex hormones, known as testosterone. The word â€Å"Anabolic† means muscle building. The word â€Å"steroids† is just referred to as a drug name or a class of drug. Some athletes have made the decision that they would like to jump higher, run faster, throw harder and hit 100 home runs. Well, this can be accomplished through hard work, dedication, and practice can’t it? Some athletes feel the need to take a shortcut to being the best, so†¦show more content†¦An example of this is that a study was done at a private treatment center for dependence, 227 men admitted of using heroin or other opioids. (Pope and Katz, 1988). Today, not only athletes but also others abuse anabolic steroids to enhance their performance and for the non-athletes they want to improve their physical appearance. The majority of steroids are taken through injection by a needle; done so in cycles of weeks or months, this is also called â€Å"cycling† these individuals who are engaging in steroid use are putting themselves at risk for HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which can cause serious damage to the liver. â€Å"Cycling† is taking multiple doses of steroids over a certain period of time, which includes stopping and starting again. Users also do a thing called â€Å"stacking† which is simply combining several types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects. An article done by ESPN states that, â€Å" There should be no controversy over anabolic steroid use in athletes—non-medical use of anabolic steroids is illegal and banned by most, if not all, major sports organizations.† Why don’t we drug test the athletes if steroid use is illegal? Coakley states that, â€Å"Drug testing is needed to protect the health of athletes and to relieve athletes of the pressures they feel to take potentially dangerous substances to keep upShow MoreRelatedWhy Performance Enhancement Drugs Use Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesWhy are performance enhancement drugs use in professional sports? The use of steroids has been a major problem among sports and has caused lots of controversy. Although these professional sports organizations such as the NFL, NHL, NBA and several others have spent time and money investigating athletes for uses of performance enhancement drugs, nothing has been done to erase records or record breaking statistics . 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Home run totals wereRead MoreSteroid Use in Sports1732 Words   |  7 Pagesten to fifteen percent of professional athletes use illegal steroids which are also known as performance enhancing drugs. These substances which are banned in professional sports aren’t just any type of steroid or drug. They are called anabolic steroids or performance enhancing drugs, and they are synthetically produced substances of male testosterone hormones. The use of these illegal steroids has garnered a lot of publ icity within the world of sports over the past few years. As athletes continueRead MorePerformance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports1078 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Performance-enhancing drugs in sports: A literature review A number of prominent athletes have recently experienced a fall from grace, because of the revelation that they used performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps the most famous example of this phenomenon is Lance Armstrong. In an advertisement for Nike that his former sponsor now no doubt regrets, Armstrong is shown asking the viewer what am I on? Im on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. Professional cycling is often cited as one ofRead MoreEssay Steroid Legalization Rebuttal811 Words   |  4 Pageslegalize steroids in professional sports† written by Chris Smith of Forbes Magazine argues that to level the playing field of professional sports it would be beneficial to legalize the use of performance enhancing drugs. Mr. Smith’s ideals that professional sports would be a fairer, more entertaining version of itself if performance enhancing drugs were legal, is an incredibly irresponsible and impudent declaration. Mr. Smith states â€Å"The primary reason why performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are