Smart Muscle tackles steroid misuse in central London

Social care organisation Turning Point has started a unique service in central London providing specialist advice for people who are using or considering using steroids. This is the only such service which tackles the effects of performance-enhancing and image-enhancing drugs. This follows a successful pilot at the Turning-Point Hungerford Drug Project in Soho, which has seen close to 200 clients since it opened.

The Smart Muscle service was started in response to the increasing number of steroid users who were presenting to needle exchanges in the Soho area. Some needle exchanges around the country are now seeing more steroid users than opiate users. Without specialist services they are having to rely on information from their dealers or friends and this can be very inaccurate. There are severe side-effects involved with steroid injecting; for instance the dangers for men include a shrinking of their testicles and the development of female breast tissue.

Turning Point's Roy Jones says:

"Young guys are now being bombarded with images of men with perfect six packs and muscular frames. And they want to look the same as quickly as they can. We are seeing young guys in their early twenties who are injecting drugs that they don't even know the names of. Steroids used to be the domain of guys in their thirties but the guys are getting younger and younger."

There are a number of issues that lead to some people using steroids in a harmful way:

Most drug services are not equipped to give a full service that meets all their needs because of the complexity of information involved in working with this group.
Steroid users often do not consider themselves to have a drug problem and do not want to be associated with conventional drug services. They are much more likely to attend a service that is for specifically for them.
Many people believe that steroids are the domain of athletes but that group makes up less than three percent of the people who use them in this country. Most people are using them for image enhancing reasons only.

Service manager Roy Jones says:

"We are in a unique position as we are getting people coming into our service before they have actually taken the drug. This gives us the opportunity to look at their training and diet and in some cases prevent them from using steroids at all."

For more information please contact:

Steve Palmer
Turning Point Press Officer
020 7481 7639
Out of hours 07786 938 601
www.turning-point.co.uk

Notes to editors:

Turning Point is the UK's leading social care organisation: Turning Point provides services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems or those with a learning disability. Turning Point provides services in over 250 locations and has contact with over 100,000 people every year.

The free and confidential sessions take place every Tuesday evening between six pm and nine pm at 31 Wardour Street, Soho, London W1D 6PT. Telephone 020 7851 2955.
The service is completely free and confidential. It provides information on diet, training, cycles, stacks, post cycle therapy, side effects and help to identify counterfeit drugs.
Funding for the service has come from Camden Drug and Alcohol Team Challenge Fund.

Tuesday 18th November 2008

Ends