Illicit steroids and performance-enhancing drugs are typically reserved for elite athletes and competitive bodybuilders. The list of potential side effects, from hair loss to stroke, is enough for most people to steer clear. But in Australia (and across the world) young people, and particularly young men, are willing to take the risk.
Last year, 2.3% of Australian high school students – a hefty 23 in every 1000 – reported using steroids or other illicit performance and image-enhancing drugs. This figure has remained steady for the last decade.
“Across the population, we’re talking tens of thousands of secondary school students aged 12 to 17 who have used these drugs before, which I think is huge,” Beng Eu, a Melbourne-based doctor and senior fellow at the University of Melbourne, told VICE.
“For a population who probably have less access to funds, it’s not as easy to order these things. But my sense is that…
