Icelandic gyms have a responsibility to educate members about anabolic steroid use 

Brigir Sverrisson, the managing director of the Icelandic Medicines Agency, considers anabolic steroid use to be a major public health problem. Sverrisson wants commercial gyms to take the lead and do something about the high rates of steroid use by Icelandic athletes and bodybuilders.

“The gyms have expressed an interest in taking a stand against drug abuse and they have very much power in it,” Sverrisson said. “We have had a gym meeting and there are more meetings on the agenda and there is a demand for some sort of coordination and consultation forum.”

Sverrisson says gyms have a responsibility to become involved in education campaigns that seek to deter and discourage people from using steroids. Sverrisson even suggested that gyms could force gym members to undergo drug testing if they are suspected of using steroids. This is already done in Denmark.

While drug testing at commercial gyms could be effective, Sverrisson assured everyone that the Icelandic Medicines Agency would not require that gyms drug test its members. But if the gyms really wanted to implement dug testing then that would be great.

Most of the gyms in Reykjavik were receptive to Sverrisson’s drug testing proposal.

However, not every gym was on board. World Class Fitness Center in Reykjavik flatly rejected proposal to test members for steroids.

The World Class Fitness Center in Reykjavik was strongly opposed to drug testing. Sverrisson warrned World Class that it was making a big mistake.

“This is a very serious public health issue that may come down to us later,” said Sverrisson. “These are dangerous substances, and it’s not a great knowledge of them, that’s quite a smart matter. And gymnasiums are not provided with measures to counteract or counteract the use.”

The number of testosterone prescriptions in Iceland has soared over the past 10 years. The rate of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is reportedly 50% greater in Iceland that it in other Nordic countries. Sverrisson cited these statistics as the basis for a call to action to stop steroidsl

Source:

RUV. (October 24, 2018). Fitness centers take a stand against steroids. Retrieved from ruv.is/frett/likamsraektarstodvar-taki-afstodu-gegn-sterum

Källa: https://www.steroid.com/blog/Gyms-have-a-responsibility-to-educate-members-about-anabolic-use.php