Most US Adults Are Unfazed By Steroid Abuse
The stripping of Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France championships along with his lifetime ban from competition was no lighthearted disciplinary action for steroid use. So why are the majority of U.S. adults still undaunted by the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs?
According to a study co-financed by the Baseball Hall of Fame and conducted by the Gallup Organization, steroid abuse among America's youth is of no concern to most parents. In fact, the majority of U.S. adults displayed more apprehension towards alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, bullying, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases.
Gauging the opinion of 1,002 adult respondents, the survey found that 19 percent of participants were unfazed by the presence of anabolic steroid use among high school students; however, 97 percent of those who answered did recognize the unhealthy side effects of steroid abuse, the Associated Press reported.
Additionally, the study discovered that 63 percent of adults who responded to the questionnaire thought steroids were problematic in professional sports and 46 percent recognized a problem with college athletes.
"The American people haven't connected the dots between steroid use and our children," said Neil Romano, chairman of the Hooton Foundation and former director of the White House office of drug abuse policy.
"This is my kid may not have made the baseball team because of the other kid in school. It may mean that my kid did not get the scholarship, my child didn't make the cheerleaders. Now the American people will pay attention to this because it's personal and it hits home."
A recent study conducted by the National Institute of Drug Abuse claimed 325,000 teenage boys and 175,000 teenage girls were using steroids in the United States.
The substance does offer proven medical benefits for conditions such as delayed puberty, steroid hormone deficiency, certain types of cancer, and AIDS.
Health problem related to steroid abuse include kidney and liver failure, damage to cardiovascular health, spiked blood pressure as well as an increase in aggression and suicidal thoughts.
The national survey was given the name The American Public's Perception of Illegal Steroid Use.