Big Contributor To Steroid Use Among Teenagers example essay topic

Our Nations Little Secret Within every gym and athletic practice across the United States there are secrets. These secrets are kept by public gyms, membership health clubs and even high school sports. This secret is killing our youth and disrupting the sportsmanship of not only the United States, but also on an international level. What I am referring to is the use of anabolic steroids. This epidemic is spreading through our country like a wildfire. It is going unnoticed and misunderstood.

Even our government has not found the money the man power or the time to deal with this killer. It can be bought wherever pleasure or illicit drugs can be found. The people who push these drugs are usually the people teenagers look up to. The drug pushers are the kids teachers, coaches and even their parents.

It seems to me that if a parent pushes steroids on their children that they are not living in reality. They are probably living the lives they never had through their children. When the children do not live up to the parents expectations the parents push the drugs to make the children the best they can be even if it kills him. It is a shame to see that the parents are living their dreams through their kids and killing them in the process. Along with the parents and the coaches, another big contributor to steroid use among teenagers are everyday sports heroes. If a professional sports figure is busted using any drug he should be banned from all competition and be forced to teach or attend classes that show what the drug does to your body and mind.

Right now it seems that all professional figures caught using and abusing are given a slap on the wrist and a pathetic fine then sent on their way. They reap the benefits of being a sports figure and yet they are giving the youth of America the impression that drugs are good. In layman terms, they are killing our youth. They trick them into believing that drug abuse is ok, and that whatever enhances your abilities, should be used or taken. What the professionals do not tell you is what they go through off the field.

The public does not see all the suffering and side effects the user goes through off the playing field. The public just sees the athletes playing at amazingly high levels and getting paid a lot of money for their so called talent. The only suffering the public sees is when the user falls ill and admits to his addictions. By this time the super star athlete is dying, and the admirer, usually the teenager, is already an abuser.

All drugs are for losers, and people who sell, promote or use these performance enhancing drugs are cowards and cheats and should not be allowed to play any sports at all. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of male testosterone, a hormone found only in the male body. Testosterone is the most abundant androgen in the male body and controls all the sex organs too. What this means to athletes is that 'when manipulated, boys can add thirty to forty pounds a month to their weight (Mongale 11). ' Anabolic steroids use results in leaner body mass and less fat. Steroids also increases strength and muscle definition in the common male.

These are all very drastic increases, but most athletes use anabolic steroids for faster recovery time between work outs. Athletics are a very big part of my life and everyday routine. My regular training schedule for my senior year in high school was: swimming from 4: 45-6: 30 a. m., then I would go to school in which I had a weight lifting class for a class. After school it was back to the pool for another two hours. I would then lift weights after workout 3 days a week. As you can see I could have benefited from using anabolic steroids.

The faster you recover, the more workouts you could attend. In the long run the more practices you attended the better, but only if you were not using steroids. Anabolic steroids have serious side effects. Along with severe acne scaring, a male can become infertile, and the testicles will shrink. In teenage males the sex organs can become painfully large. Along with the stuff you can see, steroid users have internal problems to worry about too.

Many users come down with both benign and malignant tumors on their livers and hearts. Users also run high risks of having heart attacks. Also, in some teenagers prolonged use can fuse growth plates together and stunt growth. Steroid use also has serious effects on ones thinking and rationality. In males, they look at themselves in the mirror and instead of seeing a huge man, they see a dwarf. doctors call this 'reverse anorexia (Schrof 61). ' They just can't seem to get big enough.

According to doctors, '14% of all steroid users say they are hooked (Schrof 59). ' Millions of people are using this drug. And what surprised me is that '6.64% of all adolescent males have tried or are on steroids. ' (177) Even more alarming is that these so called rages can happen at the spur of the moment. People on steroids always seem to be uptight and very fidgety.

According to Rozin 'one in every twenty steroid users will be susceptible to these side effects and will have an absolute Jekyll and Hyde transformation while taking steroids. In rare cases, people on steroids have become homicidal and committed a murder. ' (63) It has gotten so bad that defense lawyers bring in special doctors to try to explain what a road rage is. Being hooked on steroids and taking your own life is one thing. Taking the life of another because you could not control your own drug habit, that's a different story. After a hard practice I am very irritable and am ticked off very easily, I would hate to see what I would be like on steroids.

Women have basically the same reaction to the drug as men do. After long periods of steroid use, a common reaction is the loss of the individuals hair along with the deepening of their voice, permanently. Along with these reactions, body hair and facial hair also start to grow and darken. According to Dr. Ye alis, a professor of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University, and a leading expert in steroid use, 'these drugs can change a women into a man in not very big doses at all (Mongale 12). ' This is a very scary thought. Both males and females 'stack's steroids.

This means that they use multiple steroids at a time. The common perception among users is if you use a variety, then you take less of each one. They already take ten to a hundred times the recommended amount. In researching this topic, I found that many users do not seem to see themselves as addicted. According to a recent poll of 49 weight lifters, 28 would be considered addicted.

Another study done by Robert J. Dim fell, Donald A. Malone and John Lombardo showed 'of 163 weight lifters who worked out more than 6 hours a day, there were 88 abstainers, 31 current users, and 44 past users (Bower 11). ' They reported that 18% of the past users and 13% of the current users reported that they had a dependency. Mal on commented 'We " re not sure if current users are more likely to deny these problems (Brower 12). ' The three researchers had a list of depend ances.

If you fell within three of the eight categorize then you were considered dependent. The categories were: More taken than intended, desire to cut back, great deal of time dedicated to steroid activities, continued use, marked tolerance and need for more, frequent withdrawal symptoms, and steroid use to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Along with these, 7% of all steroid users contemplate suicide (Bower 31). I have one major problem with steroid use.

This problem involves our government. They have all but ignored this epidemic. They give tobacco and alcohol more attention than they give steroids. The federal office fights steroid infringements. When they do get convictions they get very light ones. A German man was caught smuggling enough steroids to make 2.5 million pills.

This particular man got a $5000 fine and 1 year in jail (Rozin 177). The problem with the enforcement is there is no help from the federal government. Users can get pills from Canada, Mexico and Europe. They pass customs undetected and most bottles are steroids. Enforcement officers fight a never ending battle.

One week a person will be selling under one name and the next they will be in a different location and under another name. Another big problem is that kids sell the drugs to support their own habit. The more expensive steroids will cost you $1500 for a two week supply. The other huge problem is that the steroid users are a tight nit group and when someone is busted, they never turn informer. But it is not like it's a small time operation 'the black market pulls in 400 million dollars a year. ' (Schrof 59) Also 6%-12% of steroids sold to teenagers are fake (Schrof 62).

Along with the steroid epidemic in the United States, the drug has spread on an international level too. Since Ben Johnson was busted in '88 for steroids have become very popular. Anabolic steroids are linked back to the Eastern Bloc Nations of the early 50's. Even before the introduction of steroids people were using performance enhancing drugs. ' Early Greek Olympians used hallucinogenic mushrooms (Schrof 61). ' In 1886 the first athlete to die from a performance enhancing drug was a French cyclist who died from a mixture of cocaine and heroin called speedball's.

Lastly and probably the most well known incident happened in World War II. Hitler administered the hormone testosterone to both himself and to his troops to increase aggressiveness. The clearest evidence I have ever seen happened in the '72 Olympics. The East German swimmers became so fast so soon that it could have only meant one thing, steroids. At the beginning of the year they were nameless faces in the crowd, average swimmers at best.

When the Olympics came, it seemed that over night they changed into great, record setting swimmers. That year the first woman to break a minute in the 100 meter butterfly was East German. The following year that woman did not compete, she had gotten to big. She got so big that she lost all her flexibility, a must if you swim butterfly. When you do not perform for a communist country you are just discarded like a piece of trash. The government will just find another able bodied athlete to replace you and the cycle repeats itself.

It has not changed much since the 1972 Olympics. Most recently the communist counties of north Korea and China have started to dominate women's swimming. They are no named swimmers who just seemed to pop up from no where. These swimmers came into the spotlight when a young Chinese swimmer shattered a world record.

Some saw it as an awesome swim, but as other awed other contemplated. Who was this girl and where did she come from. The next month at an Asian national meet, most of her team tested positive for steroids and suspended for steroid use. Since she was never tested her record still stands. I have had the unfortunate opportunity to swim with Angel Martinez.

She is still one of the best female sprinters in the country, but it was not that long ago that a controversy surrounded her. She was given a drug test before the Olympic trials. She tested positive for steroids. She proclaimed her innocence and even took the international board to court over the matter. It seem that she was on the pill at the time of her testing. She claims that the pill messed up her test.

But the court ruled in favor of the board and she was not allowed to compete in the trials or the Olympics. When I saw the woman train, she was huge. Her legs were the size of my waist and she seemed never to tire in any workout. I have no doubt in my mind that when I saw her she was off the drugs. But I am sure she is a past user. I cannot see how a women could get that big without a little help form steroids.

I have seen a lot of swimmers in my life time and none of them, minus the breast strokes, come that big. All swimmers who compete on high levels beside high school and USS (Unites States Swimming) have narrow, lean bodies, big shoulders and powerful chests. This girl was stacked from head to toe. Returning to the issue of teenagers being pushed by their teammates, coaches and parents to take steroids.

I have only one thing to tell the teenagers in this situation, get out. Either give in and lose all you humanity and respect for yourself or tell yourself that you don't need that poison to be the best you can be. It is hard to be a teenager these days and see professional athletes beating their spouse or significant others, doing cocaine or heroine. I understand that it is hard to look up to any sport, baseball has Daryl l Strawberry the cocaine using alcoholic, basketball has the sex maniac Magic Johnson who will eventually die from his mistake. Where ever you look these days you see how illicit behavior effect peoples lives. Golf even has its bad boy, Jon Daly just spent a couple of months in rehab for alcohol abuse.

Kids these days look up to the drunks, druggies and womanizers as heroes. Society in general has lost its grip on the so called untouchables of sports. Only in America can a baseball player complain of only getting 3.3 million dollars a year to throw a baseball around. Let's get real, greediness is also a drug. It is spreading across America almost as fast a steroids. We as a nation need to open our eyes and see that the most corrupt business in America is the sports associations we as teenagers and adults look up to.

I have been around sports my entire life and not once have I even pondered taking a performance enhancing drug. I can tell you why that has never crossed my mind. I was brought up with the attitude that I have the abilities to be or do anything I want. All I have to do is put my body and heart into an activity and I can achieve my goals.

Yet, I know my limitations, I know that I will never play pro ball or play in the big leagues. I know that I will never be president. Anything under those accomplishments I feel I have the ability to achieve. People who use performance enhancing drug do not know their limitations. They run their lives chasing dreams that died the minute they took those steroids.

I feel deep down in my heart that cheating is the worst crime an athlete can commit. He is not only cheating his teammates, opponents, family and coach, but he is cheating himself. He is losing that feeling of accomplishment and winning on your own. There is no greater feeling in the world than accomplishing a goal all by yourself with no outside interference. I have only one thing to say to steroid users. I am better than you.

You may beat me in competition, but I have already beaten you in heart, desire and everything else. In my eyes you are the loser, no matter what the score. If you cannot compete without poisoning your body then you are no better off than a murderer, because you are murdering yourself, your body and your dreams. The biggest high one can get from sports is the thrill of competition. The thrill of victory does not even compare to the adrenalin that pumps through your blood the minute the quarterback says hike or the second before the pitcher lets go of the ball. Even victory is sweeter if you are there by your own power and didn't need anything but encouragement along the way.

The biggest high in the world is knowing you accomplished what you set out to do. By commitment and determination you have made your dreams a reality and may have learned something in the process. If steroids play apart in that accomplishment then you are the real loser, all you can hope for is that destroying your body and mind is worth all the fame, because you only get one body and money and fame cannot buy everything. their way.

Bibliography

Bower, Bruce. 'Pumped Up and Strung Out. ' Science News July 1991: 30-31 Mongale, Katie.
The Devils Juice. ' Scholastic Update May 1992: 11-12 Rozin, Skip.
Steroids and Sports. ' Business Week October 1994: 176-177 Schrof, Johnnie.
Pumped Up. ' U.S. News and World Report June: 1991: 58-63 referring to is the use of anabolic steroids.