· ---...NYK-U ....... ,._,. ........... ·--"_,._ """•-n•M--•• Response to your request for official information 133 Molesworth Street PO Box 5013 Wellington 6140 New Zealand +64 4 496 2000 Thank you for your request for official information on 2 Apr il 2019 under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) for information on the seizure of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs or "steroids") at the border, specifica ll y: "Covering the last five complete years 2018- 2013 (or where appropriate information is available) where each item/product seized was from and the destination (ie. city or town) it was addressed to. A detailed breakdown of what each item/product seized was and how much was there in terms of unit of capacity. How many items/products does the Ministry of Health estimate make it past the "border" and to its addressed destination? How is this calculated/estimated? Secondary: An explanation of the illegality of purchasing or using PIEDslsteroids in New Zealand. What PIEDs/steroids can be used in a legal manner in New Zealand and how?" The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) has prepared seven tables, with fig ur es concerning your request. These are itemised in Appendix 1 to this letter, and copies of the documents are attached. Please find answers to your questions below. Covering the last five complete years 2018 - 2013 (or where appropriate information is available) where each item/product seized was from and the destination (ie. city or town) it was addressed to. I am refusing this part of your request pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act, as to provide this information in the format requested wo ul d require substantial collation. However I am
133 Molesworth Street PO Box 5013 Wellington 6140 New Zealand
+64 4 496 2000
Thank you for your request for official information on 2 April 2019 under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) for information on the seizure of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs or "steroids") at the border, specifica lly:
"Covering the last five complete years 2018- 2013 (or where appropriate information is available) where each item/product seized was from and the destination (ie. city or town) it was addressed to.
A detailed breakdown of what each item/product seized was and how much was there in terms of unit of capacity.
How many items/products does the Ministry of Health estimate make it past the "border" and to its addressed destination? How is this calculated/estimated?
Secondary: An explanation of the illegality of purchasing or using PIEDslsteroids in New Zealand. What PIEDs/steroids can be used in a legal manner in New Zealand and how?"
The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) has prepared seven tables, with figures concerning your request. These are itemised in Appendix 1 to this letter, and copies of the documents are attached.
Please find answers to your questions below.
Covering the last five complete years 2018 - 2013 (or where appropriate information is available) where each item/product seized was from and the destination (ie. city or town) it was addressed to.
I am refusing this part of your request pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act, as to provide this information in the format requested would require substantial collation. However I am
providing some general information of country of export and New Zealand region of destination for 2018. This is set out in tables 4 to 7 attached to this request.
• A detailed breakdown of what each item/product seized was and how much was there in terms of unit of capacity.
I am refusing this part of your request pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act, as to provide this in the format requested would require substantial collation. However I am providing information by category of PIEDs. The categories are listed below. It should be noted that the description of "use" is not necessarily the medicine's usual or approved use.
• Anabolic Steroids • Anti-estrogens - these are used to negate the estrogenic effect of anabolic steroids • Fat burners - these are often medicines normally used to treat asthma or thyroid
conditions. Users believe that these substances will help burn fat • Growth hormone • Peptides - these are new generation PIEDs, the majority (if not all) have not been
approved in any country as a medicine. They include human growth hormone secretagogues, Insulin-like growth factors and Rev-ERB agonists
• Selective androgen receptor modulators ("SARMs") - again these are a new generation PIED
• Other
I further advise that the PIEDs seized would primarily be obtained from the black market.
Tables 1 and 2 (attached) set out the number of interceptions of PIEDs by year and by category. As one seizure may contain more than one category of PIED those numbers are higher than the number of seizures.
Since 2014, Medsafe has collated the quantity of Anabolic Steroids seized. This is set out in Table 3 (attached). All but the active pharmaceutical ingredient ("API") are in final dosage form. The API would undergo a manufacturing process to make the final product. To collate this information for 2013 and for other categories would require substantial collation, so I am refusing to provide this information pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act.
• How many items/products does the Ministry of Health estimate make it past the "border" and to its addressed destination? How is this calculated/estimated?
The figures in the attached tables are for medicines that are intercepted by Customs, the total number of medicines that are imported that are not detected is not known. Accordingly, I am refusing this part of your request pursuant to section 18(g) of the Act, as the information requested is not held by Medsafe and there are no grounds for believing that the information is held by another department.
• An explanation of the illegality of purchasing or using PIEDslsteroids in New Zealand
• What PIEDslsteroids can be used in a legal manner in New Zealand and how?
The majority of PIEDs are scheduled prescription medicines and, if imported by the routes mentioned earlier, are medicines that are not approved in New Zealand. The importation, manufacture, packing, advertising and distribution of medicines fall within the Medicines Act 1981 (Medicines Act). In general terms it is unlawful for a person to import and possess prescription medicines without a reasonable excuse. A reasonable excuse includes, for a person or company that is not licensed or otherwise authorised, that the medicine has been
lawfully prescribed. It is also unlawful to manufacture and sell prescription medicines and new medicines unless a person is licensed or otherwise authorised under the Medicines Act. The relevant sections of the Act are:
• s 17 Manufacturers, wholesalers, packers of medicines, and operators of pharmacies to be licensed
• s18 Sale of medicines by retail • s20 Restrictions on sale or supply of new medicines • s43 Restrictions on possession of prescription medicines
The supply of a PIED by an authorised prescriber for the purpose of performance and image enhancement may be in breach of professional standards. The professional bodies, such as the Medical Council of New Zealand , would be the appropriate agencies to provide comment on this.
We also advise that most PIEDs are banned substances in sport. If a person competes in a sport that has agreed to New Zealand's Sports Anti-Doping Rules, they are bound to those rules, regardless of what level they compete at or their age. Drug Free Sport New Zealand is the appropriate agency to provide comment on these matters.
I trust that this information fulfils your request. Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made under this request.
Derek Fitzgerald Acting Group Manager Med safe
Appendix 1: List of documents released under the Official Information Act 1982:
# Date Title Decision on release
1 18 April 2019 Table 1 Number of interceptions of Released in full PIEDs -Yearly Comparison
2 18 April 2019 Table 2 Number of PIEDs by Released in full Category - Yearly Comparison
(some consignments have more than one type of PIED)
3 18 April 2019 Table 3 Yearly Comparison Quantity Released in full of Anabolic Steroids (includes suspected Anabolic Steroids) (previous years not quantified)
4 18 April 2019 Table 4 - Country of Export PIEDs Released in full Interceptions 2018
5 18 April 2019 Table 5 Grams of Anabolic Steroids Released in full and suspected anabolic steroids in API form by country of export 2018
6 18 April 2019 Table 6 Number of tablets/capsules Released in full of anabolic steroids intercepted by country of export 2018.
7 18 April 2019 Table 7 the number of interceptions Released in full of PIEDS by regions they were destined for in New Zealand.
Table 1 Number of interceptions of PIEDs -Yearly Comparison
Number of Year Intercepts
2013 340
2014 311
201 5 329
2016 331
201 7 228
201 8 223
Table 2 Number of PIEDs by Category - Yearly Comparison
(some consignments have more than one type of PIED)
Category 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Anabolic Steroids 214 268 329 352 199
Anti Estrogens 84 11 6 117 125 115
Fat Burners 51 67 58 57 53
Growth Hormone 26 18 13 5 10
Insulin Like GF 11 4 3 6 1
Other 7 5 12 45 35
Peptides 111 58 24 27 17
SARMS 1 6 5 9 7
Total 505 542 561 626 437
2018
162
82
42
9
3
24
34
26
382
Table 3 Yearly Comparison Quantity of Anabolic Steroids (includes suspected Anabolic Steroids) (previous years not quantified)
Anabolic Steroids 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
API (gm) 12,082 12,066.7 11 ,806.5 7,202.9 11 ,589
Vials containing powder (gm) 110 445 450 10 0
Liquid (mis) 6,535 3,397 2,785.5 3385 1,472
Tablets I Capsules# 55,393 11 ,616 16,663 9,735 40,564
Table 4 - Country of Export PIEDs Interceptions 2018
Number of Country intercepts Percentage
India 50 22.4
Hong Kong 39 17.5
USA 21 9.4
Great Britain 21 9.4
Bulgaria 15 6.7
Singapore 11 4.9
China 10 4.5
Other 56 25.1
Total 223
Table 5 Grams of Anabolic Steroids and suspected anabolic steroids in API form by country of export 2018
II
Country Qty (gm) %
Hong Kong 7,485.0 64.6
China 3,839.9 33.1
Unknown 214.0 1.8
India 50 .8 0.4
Total 11,589.7
Table 6 Number of tablets/capsules of anabolic steroids intercepted by country of export 2018
Country Number Percentage
USA 34,660 85.4
India 1,620 4.0
Great Britain 897 2.2
Singapore 820 2.0
Unknown 807 2.0
Other 1,760 4.3
40,564 100.0
Table 7 the number of interceptions of PIEDS by regions they were destined for in New Zealand
