Since their introduction into sports in the late 1950s, the use of anabolic steroids has been a controversial issue. There has been much discussion about whether steroids should be allowed for performance enhancement. If you're not familiar with them, the 1994 Merrian-Webster dictionary defines an anabolic steroid as "any group of synthetic hormones sometimes taken by athletes during training to temporarily increase the size of their muscles." athletes preparing for rigorous competition who have used these drugs. Business Weekly reported on a study conducted by the University of Illinois School of Public Health whose results were shocking. According to Paul Goldstein, the lead researcher, people from all walks of life have admitted to steroid use. He states, “We are finding firefighters, students, lawyers, teachers, people from all economic classes, most of them taking drugs for cosmetic reasons” (177). All of these individuals had admitted to using them due to the positive effects of the drugs. steroids take care of their appearance. Along with these positive effects also come negative ones. Symptoms such as acne, psychotic states, paranoia, headaches, high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, and liver and kidney damage, along with a long list of other harmful side effects related to intensive use. According to Dr. Robert Vow in his book Drugs, Sports, and Politics, in addition to trying to keep competitions fair and equitable for all who participated, these were the main reasons why anabolics were banned from sports starting with the Olympic Games in 1976. Since then, not much was known about the use of steroids in the early years. True, occasional incidents remind us that they are still around. For example, when Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the death of Lyle Alzado in 1992. For the most part, though, things seemed to have calmed down. It is speculated that this stems from increasing efforts to educate athletes and individuals about the extreme dangers associated with these steroids. Along with this education, one can't help but hear the horror stories about what these drugs have already done to others and what they will do to them after prolonged use. With such an impressive list of harmful side effects associated with steroid use, one could be sure that people would avoid them. After all, the original purpose is to improve your physical stature, not risk damaging it.