Performance-enhancing drugs have been used in our society since the 1980s and have caused over 1500 deaths. Even with all these fatalities, athletes continue to consume Performing Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) to improve their results. PED users have a “three times higher risk of death associated with androgenic anabolic steroids” (Wiley). Yet, they are still legal for consumption in the United States. Performance-enhancing drugs should be banned from human consumption due to the unfair advantage they provide and the long-term negative effects.
Steroids provide an unfair advantage to their users and significantly increase the person’s chance of outcompeting a non-steroid user. As many people know, anabolic steroids are commonly used in bodybuilding to increase the rate of getting results. What most people don’t know is that high schoolers also consume steroids and that they are also used by “10.2 percent of famous athletes” (Windsor). This gives that 10% a significant advantage and allows them to stay on top of their competition. This is incredibly unfair to the competition since there is no natural way to compete with a steroid user. An example of an athlete who uses steroids in order to gain a significant advantage is Ronnie Coleman. He is an 8 time Mr. Olympia winner who couldn’t have won without the help of anabolic steroids. After starting his steroid cycles at the age of 34, he gained over 100 pounds of solid muscle which is nearly impossible for any natural athlete. His anabolic steroid consumption should have gotten him removed from the competition, but since steroids are allowed for bodybuilding competitions, he got serious results that many of his opponents didn’t have. Imagine being one of his opponents putting in tons of effort to win a competition but losing since the opponent has a PED in their system.
Performance-enhancing drugs also create long term internal problems that can prove fatal when older.Some say that steroids are okay to consume, but that is correct to a certain extent. Along with the “increase in muscle strength very quickly,” anabolic steroids can also speed up muscle recovery allowing more intense workouts without the feeling of being sore or weak afterwards (Anabolic Steroids). While these positive effects may seem appealing, the overall long term effects associated with consumption are not worth it. Of the numerous long term health effects, anabolic steroids cause deep depression, kidney, liver, and heart failure, and tremors due to nerve damage. These side effects can be detrimental to adults’ health, especially during old ages, and should be avoided. Are enhanced muscles really worth sacrificing the body’s health?
Although the negatives of steroids outweigh the positives in the long run, the United States still hasn’t banned the consumption of steroids for athletic purposes. This is a mistake by the country and I strongly believe that anabolic steroid consumption should be banned. Steroids have serious long-term effects and provide unfair advantages to users. It creates a perception that hard work is useless and that taking shortcuts, like steroids, is the only way to be the best.
Works Cited
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/steroids