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Action against steroid abuse and GHB type drugs

HOME OFFICE News Release (142/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 7 August 2008

People who take drugs to enhance their physical appearance, including those who aspire to take part in the 2012 London Olympics, are being warned against using anabolic steroids as the Government today announced its intention to add a further 24 anabolic steroids and two growth promoters to the list of those already classed as Class C drugs.

These drugs are already banned by sports authorities but they are not illegal at present.

The Government recognises the harms associated with the use of anabolic steroids and today's move is to ensure that our drug controls are up to date, with the latest evidence of harms and availability of this group of drugs. These controls continue to be aimed at suppliers and traffickers who profit from selling and supplying these substances.

Fifty-four anabolic steroids and five growth hormones have been controlled as Class C drugs since 1996. Although a small number of people use anabolic steroids to enhance their physique and strength, steroids can cause serious psychiatric and physical problems. They are associated with aggression and violence, an increased risk of infections and in the longer term high blood pressure, liver disease, stroke and heart failure.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:

"I am pleased to support the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and law enforcement, to clamp down on drugs in sport. Some people, in particular those who aspire to Olympic success, may think that anabolic steroids can enhance their performance but they can in fact have serious health consequences.

"Today's move will ensure that our controls, aimed at illicit suppliers, are up to date. In addition, we will continue to do all we can to tackle drug misuse in the most effective way possible through tough enforcement; education; information campaigns; and, where appropriate, treatment. Law enforcement agencies will work alongside sporting bodies to ensure that these new measures are effective against the small minority who choose to misuse drugs in this way."

Together with the Home Office the Department for Culture, Media and Sport asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to consider the list of anabolic steroids and growth promoters by reference to the World Anti-Doping Code. The decision today complements the cross-government work with partner agencies around drugs in sport in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said:

"With the London 2012 Games coming ever closer we must ensure that drug cheats and those supplying and trafficking banned substances have no place to hide. The controls announced today will toughen our stance even further and follows calls from WADA for enforcement agencies to be more involved in the fight against drugs in sport.

"We are working hard on that front alongside the Home Office, Serious Organised Crime Agency, Association of Chief Police Officers, Revenue and Customs and UK Sport. The setting up of a new National Anti-Doping Agency ahead of London 2012 will strengthen our approach and stop those trying to beat the system in their tracks."

The Government also announced its intention to consider controls for the chemical precursors Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4 butanediol (also known as 1,4-BD). When ingested rapidly, they convert to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which is a Class C drug and has been cited in cases of date rape. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs found they were increasingly being used as a legal substitute for GHB, particularly as a "club drug", and can lead to dependence if used regularly, unconsciousness and even death by intoxication. Alongside the Advisory Council's provisional recommendation that they should be controlled Class C drugs, the Government will consider other ways in which their availability can be restricted for illegitimate use. Any controls must take full account of the legitimate use of these precursors. In coming months the Government will consult with the chemical industry, which uses it widely as an industrial solvent, and the wider public.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Government warns young people about the ill effects of anabolic steroid use through the FRANK drug awareness campaign at http://www.talktofrank.com/drugs.aspx?id=170. The 24 steroids and two growth promoters are on the web at http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/.

They are:

1-Androstendiol

1-Androstendione

Boldione

Gestrinone

Danazol

Desoexoymethyltestosterone

19-Norandrostenedione

Prostanozol

Tetrahydrogestrinone

Dihydrotestosterone

5<-Androstane-3<,17<-diol

5<-Androstane-3<,17r-diol

5<-Androstane-3r,17<-diol

5<-Androstane-3r,17r-diol

Androst-4-ene-3r,17r-diol ('Androstenediol')

Androst-4-ene-3<,17<-diol

Androst-4-ene-3<,17r-diol

Androst-4-ene-3r,17<-diol

5-Androstenedione

Epidihydrotestosterone

3<-Hydroxy-5<-androstan-17-one

3r-Hydroxy-5<-androstan-17-one

19-Norandrosterone

19-Noretiocholanolone.

The two growth promoters are Zeranol and Zilpaterol.

2. The Drug Misuse Declared Survey 2007/08 is on the web at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0708.pdf.

3. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 it is an offence to produce, supply, possess with intent to supply, and import and export with intent to supply anabolic steroids. The penalty for supply can be up to 14 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. However, it is not an offence to possess them when they are in the form of a medicinal product. Anyone found in possession of anabolic steroids may face arrest if there is evidence of dealing of possession with intent to supply to others.

4. Fewer than one per cent of 11 to 15 year olds took anabolic steroids in the last year, according to the Information Centre's survey of young people, while only 0.1 per cent of adults took anabolic steroids in 2007/08. Nonetheless the Government is determined to take tough action against these harmful drugs.

5. The Information Centre's "Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking Among Young People in England 2007", which was published on 17 July 2008, is on the web at http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles-related-surveys/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/drug-use-smoking-and-drinking-among-young-people-in-england-2007.