CollegiateCase

Study

THE NATION S NEWSPAPER

Steroids: Are they worth it?

There are sports figures who use anabolic steroids to enhance their athleticprowess, but at what risk? Players acknowledge there is pressure to takesteroids to compete. However, doctors caution that side effects from steroiduse can include kidney failure, heart disease, brain tumors and impotency aswell as behavioral changes. And yet, some contend that when used in lowerdoses there isn't a negative effect on liver function, the immune system orcardiac risk profile.

Should athletes be tested? The decision of whether or not players should betested for steroids and how that would be implemented brings aboutquestions of privacy, fairness and the politics of sports. This case study willreview viewpoints and policies from Major League Baseball and other sportslike the NFL , NBA, U.S. Olympic team, NCAA and high school sports.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

www.usatodaycollege.com

HS2002-03

CLOSE

OPENPUSHDOWN& TURN

5 ormore

4

3

2

1

America’s pill takersMore than 44% ofAmericans takeprescription drugsdaily. Number ofprescriptionsthey take:

USA TODAY Snapshots®

By Frank Pompa, USA TODAY

Source: AmericanSociety of Health-System Pharmacists

Injuries in major leaguesskyrocketSteroid use could share blame forjump in trips to disabled listBy Cesar Brioso 7

Angel says steroids'aren't worth it'Doctors talked Gil out of using themBy Staff reports 8

Build muscles, shrinkcareersUsing anabolic steroids means riskinghealth and even lifeBy Anita Manning 10

Kids, steroids don't mixYet many teenagers look up to ball-players, do whatever it takes to getbig(ger), strong(er)By Anita Manning 12

Olympic-style drugtesting is rigidBy Dick Patrick 9

Case Study ExpertDr. Michael S. BahrkeAcquisitions Editor, Human Kinetics(Scientific, Technical, and Medical Division) By Mel Antonen

USA TODAY

All-Star Derek Jeter is tired of thenever-ending suspicions that baseballplayers are souped up with illegalmuscle-building drugs called steroids. Heknows about privacy issues but says hewants to be tested to clear the record.

"I don't have a problem with gettingtested because I have nothing to hide,"says Jeter, shortstop for the New YorkYankees. "Steroids are a big issue. Ifanything like a home run or any injuryhappens, people say it's steroids. That'snot fair."

Question hangingover baseball iswhether players,union and ownerscan deal withsteroids as well aseconomic challengesto the game

Cover Story

USA TODAY poll: 79%of players want drugtesting

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 1A

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Jeter isn't alone in his view.According to a USA TODAY pollconducted June 12-23, 79% of big-league baseball players say theywould agree to independenttesting for steroids. Even thoughthe players union has resistedtesting, only 17% of the polledplayers back the union's stance.But 44% of players acknowledgethere is some pressure to takesteroids to compete in the majors.

A separate USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows that 86% ofbaseball fans say players should betested for steroids. Almost 80% offans say steroids have played a rolein the recent rash of offensiverecords. Cynics note that theseason home run record, whichhad stood for 37 years, has beenbroken twice in three seasons.(Last Tuesday, a record 62 homeruns were hit in the majors.)

There also has been an alarmingincrease in injuries. JamesAndrews, an orthopedist inBirmingham, Ala., who treats manyprofessional athletes, says he hasnever seen such a rush of muscle-tendon injuries and thinks it couldbe related to steroid use.

A USA TODAY database studyshows that trips to the disabled listfor major leaguers increased 32%from 1992 to 2001.

So if players, fans and the league all want it, why doestesting remain out of reach?

The short answer is baseball politics. Years of battles overeconomic issues have created long-running distrustbetween owners and players. The two sides must agree ondrug testing and how it is implemented in collectivebargaining before it can become a reality. The relationshipbetween the sides is so acrimonious that there have beenfew agreements -- and eight work stoppages -- since 1972.

According to numerous interviews, players want to knowbefore they agree to testing how the tests will beadministered and by whom. They worry about privacymatters and what the punishment would be for playerswho test positive. And they worry that owners might

manipulate careers with controlover drug testing, voiding contractsof undesired players and lookingthe other way with stars.

Baseball's Basic Agreementexpired in November. The playersare preparing for a strike in August,and union leaders are meeting inChicago today, a day before the All-Star Game in Milwaukee, to set astrike date.

Players and owners are notgetting any closer on thornyeconomic issues such as revenuesharing among teams, luxury taxeson high payrolls and salary caps.Baseball's competitive balance is inshambles. Ticket sales areplummeting.

Drug testing could end up abargaining chip, say players andunion leaders. It certainly will beviewed as less important by bothsides than the issues involving thebasic financial underpinnings ofthe game. A testing solution won'thappen if both sides are at eachother's throats over money issues.

"I don't know if steroids testing isgoing to be part of the agreement,"says Yankees relief pitcher MikeStanton, the team's playerrepresentative. "I don't want tobelittle its importance, but thereare a lot of issues on the table thatwill come before steroids. And the

steroids issue is not as easy as saying yes or no. There islegal stuff."

The players say they don't trust the major league office toadminister the tests fairly. The issue of punishment for apositive result or refusal to take a test needs to bebargained. Players say they also have concerns over what istested for and when they are tested.

Colorado Rockies infielder Todd Zeile says the ownersmust prove they can do the tests fairly. Still, he wants a deal.

"The sad part is that the issues I hear discussed arewhether (using steroids) is taking away from the levelplaying field or whether there are long-term effects to thisstuff," Zeile says. "I never hear anybody talking about the

Page 2

USA TODAY

morality or the ethics or the integrity of the game. It'scheating in every sense."

Anaheim Angels outfielder Garret Anderson isopposed to testing, calling it an invasion of privacy.Yet, because his home runs have doubled since he hit16 his rookie season of 1995, Anderson says he getsfalsely accused of using steroids.

"You get into a situation of, 'Where's it going toend?' " he says. "It's an invasion of privacy. Once youstart doing that, then you jump to other things."

What if a testing program assured anonymity? "Iwouldn't trust it," Anderson says. "Things come out.There is just no way you can have 100% anonymityunless you say you're going to sue somebody for amillion dollars if they say something. Who knows?You may get released and don't even know why. . . .Whatever they may find in your blood. There's noway they can convince me that it's 100% thatnobody's going to know."

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa scoffs atthat notion. "I hear people talk about privacy issues. Ifyou want privacy, go play semipro ball. (Drug use)hurts baseball. Why should we pay millions of dollarsto these guys and have them go on the disabled list?"

Money matters

Fans polled by USA TODAY clearly voiced their support oftesting.

"I'm sure players take steroids," says Travis Hopkins, anaccountant and a Baltimore Orioles fan from Woodbridge,Va. "I wish they wouldn't, but I understand they are takingthem to make money and get into the history books."

Penn State professor, author and drug testing expertChuck Yesalis, says that money is the motivation for playersusing steroids and for owners not being genuinelyinterested in ending their use.

Players stand to make millions if steroids improve theirstats. Owners will make more money if attendance and TVrevenue rise in response to a home run splurge or animproved team record.

"People say, 'What are we going to do about (the drugproblem)?' " Yesalis says. "The history of doping leads me tosay, 'Nothing.'

"Unless the fans turn off their television sets or stop goingto stadia, nothing's going to happen. Sports aren't going to

do anything unless the multibillion-dollar sport industry isthreatened. The only way it can be threatened is bydiminished market share."

Estimates vary on how many players use steroids. Earlierthis summer, retired MVPs Ken Caminiti and Jose Cansecoadmitted they had used steroids and charged that steroidsare rampant in baseball. Caminiti said that at least half of theplayers use steroids. Canseco said the number was closer to85%. Players disputed these numbers, and even Caminitibacked away from his estimate.

Still, as USA TODAY's poll indicates, players do believe anumber of their ranks are using steroids.

"I feel cheated if everyone's on steroids," Chicago WhiteSox first baseman Frank Thomas says. "Baseball needs to dosomething."

The issue of performance-enhancing drugs becamenational news in 1998. That's when St. Louis slugger MarkMcGwire admitted using androstenedione, a weight-liftingsupplement that can be bought over the counter, when hehit a season record of 70 homers.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Mark didn't doanything illegal," La Russa says. But, he adds, testing is

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 1A

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 3

Steroids Case Study

How other sports handle testingMinor league baseballTesting: All players are tested for

amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, marijuana,opiates, PCP, Ecstasy, alcohol, steroids andandrostenedione.

Punishment: First-time offenders aresubject to education, treatment and coun-seling and placed in a program wherethere is more random testing. Repeatoffenders are subject to various actions;five positive tests require a suspension.

NFLTesting: All players tested once during

preseason for steroids, cocaine, marijuana,opiates, PCP, ephedrine. Testing continuesyear-round with seven or eight playerspicked randomly from each team everyweek. There also are random offseasontests.

Punishment: A first-time offender is sus-pended for four games without pay. A sec-ond-time offender gets a six-game suspen-sion without pay, and a third offense drawsa year's suspension without pay.

NBATesting: Rookies get tested four times a

year for amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, opi-ates, marijuana, PCP and steroids.

Punishment: For steroids, the firstoffense brings a five-game suspension andplacement in the league's drug treatmentprogram. A second offense gets a 10-gamesuspension, and a third brings a 25-gamesuspension.

U.S. Olympic teamTesting: Steroids, diuretics, narcotics,

peptide hormones (EPO), mimetics andanalogues (HGH and IGF-1 fall into this cat-egory), stimulants, blood doping, plasmaexpanders. Also prohibited in certain cir-cumstances (in competition, usually): alco-hol, beta-blockers, marijuana, local anes-thetics and glucocorticosteroids.Erythropotein (EPO) is tested for at certainevents, including the most recentOlympics in Sydney and Salt Lake City.

Punishment: Penalties vary by sportand by substance. First-time offenders canreceive as little as a public warning or asmuch as a two-year suspension. In 2001 adiver received a two-month suspension forusing ephedrine, a track athlete received apublic warning for the same offense and acyclist received a three-month suspension.All were first-time offenders who testedpositive at events.

NCAATesting: A year-around, on-campus, ran-

dom program tests for anabolic steroids inDivision I football and track and field andDivision II football and baseball. Every col-lege player is tested at least once a year.Besides steroids and diuretics, testing atNCAA championships and bowl gamesincludes stimulants and street drugs. Apositive test results in loss of eligibility forone year.

Independent testing popular but would need approval of union, owners

needed "so that com-parisons (of players) fromgeneration to generationcan be drawn aslegitimately as possible.We're talking about thegame's integrity."

San Diego Padresgeneral manager KevinTowers says steroids are"prevalent" in the gameand too many players aregaining 20-30 poundsover the winter, a surefiresign of someone onsteroids.

Most current playerssay steroids are used inthe game but label claimsby Caminiti and Cansecoas outrageous. The USATODAY poll showed that75% of players believedless than half of majorleaguers used steroids;only 3% believed no oneused them.

"Half the players? Comeon," Oakland Athleticsoutfielder David Justicesays. "I look around thisclubhouse, and I don't seeanybody with the signs ofsteroids use. I don't knowof anyone who came tocamp 20-30 poundsheavier."

Finding a testing solution

The owners and players talked about steroids testingduring a June 20 meeting in New York. In February theowners offered an 11-page proposal that calls for randomtesting three times a year. The union hasn't responded.

"The ball is in their court," says Rob Manfred, MajorLeague Baseball's vice president of labor relations. "This is ahigh-priority issue."

The only man who doesn't seem to think there is much ofa problem is Don Fehr, the head of the Major LeagueBaseball Players Association. He says the current systemallows for steroid testing of players, assuming a team has

"reasonable cause." Noplayer has been tested for"reasonable cause."

Manfred suggests thatthe steroid issue besettled separately fromthe economic issues so"we could have anagreement tomorrow."But Fehr, who will spendthe next month travelingto update the 30 teamson the labor talks and getinput on steroids, saysremoving the testingissue from the economicsdebate "is possible, but Iam not sure howpractical it would be."

Fehr says he will do hisown research on players'concerns about testingand will not discuss theissue publicly. Last month he told a U.S. Senate ConsumerAffairs Subcommittee led by Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., thatsteroid testing will be a key part of negotiations.

The players support their union leaders but are seriousabout drug testing. "I think it's going to get done,"Baltimore's Jeff Conine says. "They work for us."

The steroid effect

Anabolic steroids stimulate muscle growth, even withoutdiet and activity, and help athletes recover from injuryfaster. It is against federal law to use steroids without aprescription. President Bush signed a bill into law in 1990that put steroids in the same classif ication asamphetamines, methamphetamines, opium and morphine.Simple possession of steroids is punishable by one year inprison and/or a minimum fine of $1,000.

Doctors can prescribe steroids for conditions such asAIDS.

Studies shows that side effects of steroid use can includekidney failure, heart disease, brain tumors and impotency aswell as behavioral changes such as violent rages, depression,even schizophrenia.

In addition to the 20-to-30-pound offseason muscle-massgain, signs of steroid use include a perfectly sculpted body,mood swings and acne on the back.

Without steroids, a player on a vigorous weight program

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 1A

Steroids Case Study

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 4

4%79%

17%

0%10%

4%75%

3%

7%37%

34%11%

What major leagueplayers thinkResults of a poll of major leagueplayers taken between June 12 andJune 23 with 556 of the 750 playerson rosters answering at least onequestion.

By Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY

Source:Sports Exchange

Most would acceptindependent testsWould you accept independenttesting for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs?

They think less thanhalf of players useWhat portion of major leaguebaseball players do you thinkuse steroids or performance-enhancing drugs?

Almost half feel pressure to useDo players feel pressured to takesteroids and performance-enhancingdrugs to compete at the major leaguelevel?

Yes

NoDepends on ifunion gives OK

AllMore than half

HalfFewer than half

None

Agree

Strongly disagree

Strongly agree

Disagree

0%

12%

24%

56%

2%

86%

12%

33%45%

18%

What fans thinkHow many players doyou think use drugs?

By Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY

All

More than half

About half

Less than half

None

Should players be tested?Yes, should

No, should not

Major contributor

Are drugs a major contributorto record performances inrecent years?

Minor contributor

Not a contributorSource: Results of a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup pollof 408 baseball fans conducted June 7-8, (Marginof error ± 5%):

for five months in the offseason would be doing "very good"to gain 10 pounds of muscle mass, says Tim Bishop, theBaltimore Orioles strength coach. And that would be if theathlete were lifting four times a week for two hours eachsession.

"Anything more than that, it's a sure sign that somethingelse is going on," Bishop says.

Steroids also could lead to an increase in injuries,especially to joints that can't handle the unnatural growthin muscle. According to a USA TODAY database study,injuries to joints in the majors increased 58% in the last 10years. All other injuries increased 5%.

Yet ask the Yankees' Jason Giambi about steroids testing,and he gets angry. He doesn't like it when anyone linksinjuries to steroid use.

"Baseball players have been getting hurt for a hundredyears," Giambi says. "It's stupid for people to make theconnection to steroids.

"People should know that players are working hard. Theyhave trainers. They have people helping them plan theirdiets, even cooking for them. You can't just take a pill andexpect to hit home runs. You have to have talent. Steroidsdon't help you hit a baseball."

But, as Bishop says, extra muscle helps: "Added strengthbehind a mis-hit fly ball to the warning track might send itover the fence."

There are many players who have drawn whispers abouttheir sudden burst in size, including the San FranciscoGiants' Barry Bonds, who set a record with 73 home runslast season, as well as the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa andthe Seattle Mariners' Bret Boone.

Bonds denies using steroids and says he can be tested atany time. The same for Sosa.

Boone, 33, gained 25 pounds before the 2001 season,then had a career-high 37 homers and 141 RBI for theMariners. His career high in homers had been 24. He deniesusing steroids, but he didn't condemn them last monthduring an interview with Playboy.

"Who is to say someone's wrong for doing it?" Boone isquoted as saying. "I don't know if they're good or bad. If youabuse anything, there are going to be effects down the road.If steroids are done in moderation, done correctly andsafely, it might be an option."

Conflicts of interest

If baseball opts for testing, there are two choices. Thesport could police itself, as the NFL and NBA do, or baseball

could go to independent testing, as the InternationalOlympic Committee did in 2000 with the formation of theWorld Anti-Doping Agency. (The U.S. Olympic Committeeestablished a similar organization.)

Drug-testing experts hope baseball breaks the mold indomestic sports with independent testing. Both agencieswant to talk to baseball officials about the possibilities.

"This could be a seminal moment," says Gary Wadler, aphysician and author of books on performance-enhancingdrugs. "This may be the right time for independent testingin pro-sports."

The main problem with in-house testing is that it isinherently a conflict of interest. Teams and the league havean interest in seeing their stars producing on the field andnot suspended for using illegal substances. The temptationto cover up a positive result for a star or key player becomestoo great.

When the IOC and the USOC supervised testing, therewas documented evidence of coverups.

"Everyone knows steroids is going on in baseball," saysDick Pound, president of the world doping agency. "Theproblem for the owners is how do you keep the gladiatorson the field for 160-some games a year.

"If baseball does the test, you'll get the NFL version: 'Now,Moose, you understand we're very much against steroids.And we're going to have a surprise test Sept. 22. That showsyou how serious we are and you're forewarned.' "

One thing is certain: Until baseball has a steroids-testingpolicy, fans are going to speculate on who is and isn't usingsteroids.

"The game should be steroids-free, but there are millionsof dollars involved," says Vince Troisi, a telephone linemanfrom Philadelphia and a Phillies fan.

Says his friend, Victor Hnatczenko, a security officer fromPhiladelphia: "Look at Barry Bonds. He never put up morethan 35 to 40 home runs (a year) in his career."

"And now he's breaking the home run records," Troisiinterjects. "Isn't it funny how Roger Maris' (season) homerun record stood for 37 years? Now it's been broken twicein three years."

Contributing: Dick Patrick, David Leon Moore, BobNightengale

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 1A

Steroids Case Study

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 5

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 6

The 2002 baseball season willbe remembered in part as theseason that brought steroids test-ing to the forefront.

Last February, baseball waswithout a program to test for per-formance-enhancing drugs asteam owners pushed for a pro-gram that would allow randomtesting three times a year.

The issue of no drug-testingprogram in baseball became a national debate when for-mer players Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti, each of whomhad won an MVP award, made allegations that baseballwas overwhelmed with steroids. Caminiti said that 50% ofthe players took the illegal drug while Canseco said thenumber was closer to 80%.

Owners were pushing the plan. The union's leaders weremum on the subject.

There was really no way to accurately find out theamount of steroids use in baseball, but since the issue waspart of the Basic Agreement - a legal contract between theowners and the players union - the USA TODAY plan wasto poll players about whether steroids testing would be agood thing for baseball.

We didn't know what to expect, but the results showedthat 79% of the players wanted to be tested. And, the rea-soning made sense: Players were tired of the accusationsthat they weren't playing an honest game.

"Every time, there's a home run or an injury, the discus-sion turns to steroids,'' said New York Yankees shortstopDerek Jeter.

Of course, getting a drug-testing program isn't as easy asit sounds. Players were concerned about civil rights, andrightfully so. They were worried how the tests would beadministered, who would do the work and the privacy andpunishment issues.

As the summer wore on, the owners and players eventu-ally got together on a plan.

Baseball's program works like this: In 2003, players willbe tested and if 5% or more test positive, mandatory test-ing will take place the next two seasons. If less than 2.5%test positive in consecutive years, mandatory testing willbe dropped.

The program brings questions that are worth discussing:Does this agreement say that if there is small number ofplayers using steroids, it is not a problem in baseball? Inbaseball, as it all sports, should independent testing beused? How much credibility does a program have if testingis done from within?

Mel Antonen, 46, a native of Lake Norden, S.D., and agraduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., has cov-ered baseball at USA TODAY for 16 years. Previously, hewas a general-assignment reporter at the Argus Leader, anewspaper in Sioux Falls, covering politics, agriculture andsports.

Behind the Story: A Reporter's Notebook

Mel AntonenReporter, Sports

By Cesar Brioso USA TODAY

Injuries in major league baseball are up, way up.

USA TODAY's exclusive database research comparing the1992 and 2001 seasons found that while major leagueroster spots increased 15% from 650 to 750 as the result ofexpansion in 1993 and '98, the number of trips to thedisabled list increased 32%. Days missed because of injuriesincreased 55% in the same period.

In 1992 major league players went on the disabled list352 times. Last season there were 465 DL trips. In 1992major leaguers spent 17,920 days on the DL. Last seasoninjury days jumped to 27,779.

"When you look at it, that's a significant increase," said Dr.Marc Galloway, associate director at the Cincinnati Sports-medicine and Orthopaedic Center. "Seeing an increase likethis would stimulate me to ask, 'Why is this occurring?' "

In the wake of Ken Caminiti's recent pronouncement thathalf of major leaguers use steroids, national attention hasfocused on just how widespread the use of performance-enhancing drugs is in baseball. In a USA TODAY poll of majorleague players conducted last month, 89% said there wassome steroid use in baseball.

Although doctors say steroid use could be a factor inbaseball's increased disabled-list trips, they also point toaggressive, year-round weight training, improved injurydiagnosis and increased caution with injuries because ofthe millions invested in player salaries.

"Of all the potential health effects of anabolic steroids, if Iwere to rank the most difficult to deal with, it would bemuscular-skeletal injuries," said Dr. Charles Yesalis,professor of health and human development at Penn StateUniversity.

"It would be wrong in my judgment to say we know thatpart of (the increase in injuries in baseball) is due toanabolic steroids," Yesalis said. "You don't know whatpercent of people used them."

During the last 30 years, however, multiple casesassociating steroid use with tendon and ligament damagehave focused attention on steroids' role in large-jointinjuries such as those to ankles, elbows, knees andshoulders.

Comparing DL trips from 1992 to 2001, the number oflarge-joint injuries increased 58% (from 178 to 281), whileDL visits for all other injuries, including head, neck, back,ribs, hand and foot, increased only 5% (from 174 to 182).

"There seems to be a disproportionate increase in injuriesone might expect to see in persons who are using largequantities of steroids," said Dr. Glen Hanson, acting directorof the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Although there are other potential explanations, this isone that should be considered."

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 1C

Injuries in major leaguesskyrocketSteroid use could share blame forjump in trips to disabled list

Page 7

Rosterspots

Disabledlist trips

Injurydays

Large-jointinjuries1

Otherinjuries2

Take me out of the ballgameFrom 1994 to 2001, baseball injuries increased dramatically,especially joint injuries, which some experts associate as possibleconsequences of steroid use.

1 – Includes ankle, elbow, hip, knee, shoulder and wrist2 – Includes back, hand, foot, neck, ribcage, broken bones, fractures

By Julie Snider, USA TODAY

+15%

+32%

+55% +58%

+5%

Source: USA TODAY research

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 8C

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 8

From staff reports

With the recent rise in powernumbers in baseball, many players arefaced with a dilemma: Lose your job toa power hitter, or take a performance-enhancing drug to bulk yourself up andcompete.

A survey of 556 major league playersconducted by USA TODAY betweenJune 12-23 showed that 44% believethere is pressure to use steroids tocompete at the major league level.

Anaheim Angels infielder Benji Gilfaced that pressure.

He says he considered using steroidsat the end of the 1999 season when hewas stuck in Class AAA. After spendingparts of four nondescript major leagueseasons with the Texas Rangers, hebounced around the minors for twoyears. He was worried his career wasgoing nowhere.

"It seemed like my last opportunity soI contemplated steroid use," he says."There didn't seem to be any interest inbringing me to spring training so I waslike, 'Well, what do I need to do?'

"I talked to people about steroids.They just said, 'You know what? It's notworth the risk.' "

He says he didn't approach players foradvice. "To be honest, I've neverwitnessed anyone doing it, so I wouldnever go and ask someone, even ifpeople think that they are usingsteroids," he says. "I would feel too

Angel says steroids'aren't worth it'Doctors talked Gil out of using them

On the rise

Of the 352 trips major leaguers made to thedisabled list in 1992, 178 (51%) were forinjuries to large joints. Of the 465 trips to theDL last season, 281 (61%) were for large-jointinjuries.

Injury1992

DL visits2001

DL visitsShoulder 70 129Elbow 51 71Knee 24 45Ankle 11 18Wrist 18 14Hip 4 4Others 174 184

The number of injuries identifies as tendon-or ligament-related also jumped from 1992 to2001.

Injury 1992 2001Tendon/ligament 45 146

From 1992 to 2001, visits to the disabled listand says missed because of injuries haveincreased steadily.

Injury 1992 1997DL trips 352 414

2001465

Injury days 17,920 22,341 27,779

Slowing down?

Through the All-Star break this season, therehave been fewer visits to the disabled listcompared with the same time last season.But the number of injuries identified as ten-dons or ligaments has increased.

Injury 1992 2001DL visits 367 306Large-joint injuries 281 174Injury days 24,734 14,166Tendon/ligament 76 101

uncomfortable to go up to somebodythat you don't know for a fact is usingand ask them such a personal question."

Gil says he spoke to two doctors and atrainer outside of baseball.

"The doctors told me it's not smart,"he says. "There are long-term effectsthat we don't know about. And there'sno way we can know. Unless we havehumans to study long-term effects,there's no way to know."

"The trainer said if you eat well anddon't consume a lot of alcohol and try tokeep your body pure and work outhard, it may not give you the sameresults (as steroids), but it's prettysimilar."

"I just figured it wasn't worth it. Atthe time, I was married and hadn'tstarted a family. The doctors said theydon't know if any problems might bepassed on to my children."

Gil supports testing personally butsees it as an issue that the players' unionshould deal with.

"It's a touchy subject with players," hesays. "I wouldn't mind being tested. Butwe (the union) have to be as one. Ifsome people have a problem with it,maybe there shouldn't be."

The Angels invited Gil to springtraining in 2000. He's in his third seasonwith them and is batting .324 with twohome runs and 11 RBI in 26 games.

Contributing: David Leon Moore

If Major League Baseball were to adopt Olympic-style drug testing for performance-enhancing sub-stances, players could encounter a shocking change.There is no random testing in the majors for steroidsor other performance-enhancing drugs. In contrast,athletes in Olympic sports are subject to year-round,no-notice testing.

Athletes call it "knock and pee." Testers arrive at aresidence with their kits, and athletes have to providea urine sample immediately.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, founded in October2000, conducted about 1,450 out-of-competitiontests last year and plans to increase the number to4,000 by 2004.

Out-of-competition testing started in the late 1980sand early '90s after Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson'spositive steroid test at the 1988 Olympics cost himthe gold medal in the 100 meters. A Canadian hearingrevealed a fall-winter-spring steroid program thatallowed him to pass dozens of in-competition testsduring the summer.

Testers can arrive at inconvenient times. A couple ofyears ago miler Jim Spivey was preparing to take hisson, Sebastian, to preschool when testers for theinternational track federation knocked on the door ofhis Chicago home.

"Three people are at the door," Spivey says. "I'mthinking 'Arrrr.' It was 8:53 (a.m.) and Sebastian wasdue at school at 9:15. So I said, 'Sebastian, this is aday you don't go to preschool.' "

Major leaguers might also complain about per-ceived loss of freedom. Athletes in USADA's out-of-competition pool are required to inform the agency ifthey are leaving their main residence for more thanthree days at a time.

If testers can't locate a selected athlete at his/hermain residence and the athlete has failed to notifyUSADA of a departure, the athlete can be chargedwith a missed test. Three missed tests within 18months, and an athlete is suspended for two years.Deena Drossin, the U.S. record holder for 10,000meters on the track, spends "hours" each year fillingout forms where she can be located.

"It's monotonous, tedious," says Drossin, who oncehad to give a urine specimen during a graduationparty she hosted. "But being a drug-free, professionalathlete, it's your responsibility. You want your sportto be seen as pure.

"It can be inconvenient and embarrassing. But it'sworth it, even if they catch only a couple of people ayear to keep the playing field more level. That's stillbeneficial and better than catching no one."

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 9

Olympic-styledrug testing isrigid

By Dick PatrickUSA TODAY

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 8C

By Anita ManningUSA TODAY

Sports figures who use anabolicsteroids to enhance their athleticprowess might build bigger mus-cles, but they also might be head-ing for health problems thatcould shorten their careers, andmaybe their lives, experts say.

Anabolic steroids -- syntheticversions of male hormones -- areprescription drugs developed totreat a condition in which thetestes don't produce enoughtestosterone, resulting in delayedpuberty or impotence. They arealso used to treat wasting away inpatients who have AIDS or otherconditions. They are entirely dif-ferent from corticosteroids, drugsused to treat swelling and inflammation in diseasessuch as arthritis.

Like the male hormone testosterone, anabolicsteroids promote muscle growth in both men andwomen, and it is because of this that they have beenused, legally or illegally, by athletes around the worldfor decades.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the drugsinterfere with normal hormone production, causing akind of drug-induced sex change -- men can becomefeminized, with shrunken testicles and growth ofbreasts, while women might grow body hair anddevelop lower voices. Both genders can experiencemale-pattern baldness and acne. Some studies sug-gest high doses of steroids also can affect the person-ality, leading to what the institute calls "homicidalrage, mania and delusion."

And those are just the noticeable problems, saysGary Wadler, assistant professor of clinical medicineat New York University School of Medicine. "Manyside effects may not be evident for weeks, months,years, decades."

Long-term consequences may include stroke, heartattack, high cholesterol and liver tumors, says Wadler,who notes there are reports in medical literature of15-20 premature deaths and a similar number ofheart attacks in people in their 20s and 30s who usedsteroids. When used by adolescents, steroids can per-manently stunt growth.

But there are no definitive studies to confirm thosefears, and some sports medicine experts say steroidsused by adults in moderation might not be so riskyafter all.

Miami Research Associates' Douglas Kalman, whohas published papers on performance-enhancingsupplements and counsels athletes about nutrition,says studies appear to show that when 300 mil-ligrams or less a week are used, "there does not seemto be any negative effect on liver function, theimmune system or cardiac risk profile." While highdoses might be harmful, he says, the data show"more conservative uses of steroids might be not asunhealthy as once thought."

While all drugs carry risks, says exercise physiolo-gist Jose Antonio, author of Sports Supplements, "mil-lions of athletes have used anabolic steroids regularly

Build muscles, shrink careersUsing anabolic steroidsmeans risking healthand even life

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 10

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 3C

The effects of steroids on the body

By Bob Laird, USA TODAYSource: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives oftestosterone, the male sex hormone.

Taken in conjunction with a high-proteindiet and a high-level exercise regimen,anabolics can improve an athlete’s strength,power and endurance. By themselves steroidsdon’t increase muscle mass. But used bysomeone lifting heavily, steroids can producelarger and more powerful muscles.Taken orally, by injection, or by patch, thedrugs enable an athlete to work harder andlonger than normal because of the increaseof testosterone in the system. But abuse canlead to serious health issues.

Balding(men)

Thinninghair(women)

Facial andbody hair(women)

Acne

Aggression

Deepenedvoice(women)

Increasedmuscle massand weight

Bettermuscledefinition

Liverdamage

Heartdiseaseand stroke

Decreased breastsize (women)

Breast development(men)

Ability to trainlonger andharder (with ashorterrecovery rate)

Early end toteenagers’bone growth

Increased sex driveShrunken testicles and reducedsperm production (men)Enlarged clitoris (women)

since the 1950s. At this point there is no evidenceathletes are dying of all these maladies people haveclaimed."

Moderate use for a couple of months increasesmuscle mass with "minimal side effects," he says."Now, if you do it every day of the year, yeah, that'sstupid. . . . You've just got to be smart."

Many unknowns

But athletes are aware of the risks. "Everybodyknows the consequences," Seattle Mariners outfield-er Mike Cameron says. "I've got two little kids whowant to see their father grow up."

Any discussion of risks and benefits of steroid use isclouded by a lack of data. Because the drugs are ille-gal, scientists don't know who is using them, whatthe effects of different doses are, how long they canbe taken before causing side effects or what happenswhen they're taken with other drugs.

"Steroid use is like a black box," says orthopedicsurgeon James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala. "Whenathletes come in with injuries, we don't know thetrue history, because it's secret. I don't think we'vedone a good job as sports medicine physicians todelve into this black box to see how common it is andhow it relates to the injuries we see."

Andrews, who treats many professional athletes,says he is seeing an increase in the number andseverity of joint injuries involving tendons and liga-ments. He can't attribute these to steroid use butnotes that enlarged muscles put extra stress on thetendons and ligaments that hold them in place.

"We see four to five times increased incidence intendon and muscle ruptures in my practice comparedto what we saw 10 years ago," he says. Hamstringpulls, once a relatively minor problem, have becomemore severe. "Not only do they pull them, but theytear them in two," he says. Achilles' tendon rupturesare more common, as are ruptures of biceps and tri-ceps tendons.

"It may be there's better recognition now or moreathletes," he says. "There could be a lot of factors, but(steroid use) could be one of the risk factors."

Many players say they don't want to take that risk."Guys do them, but I don't," says New York Yankeesoutfielder Shane Spencer. "I think, 'Do I want to becrippled when I am done with baseball?' I make goodmoney now. I don't need to risk my health to makemore."

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 11

Steroids Case StudyAS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2002, PAGE 3C

By Anita ManningUSA TODAY

Teenagers, looking up to those elite athletes whosemuscles ripple with steroid-enhanced power, arepicking up some dangerous training tips, healthexperts warn.

Several national youth surveys estimate steroid useby high school boys at 4%-6%, up to 12% in one study,and about 2% for girls.

And the numbers are rising. "I'd say 500,000 to600,000 kids in the U.S. have used these drugs at

some time," says researcher Charles Yesalis, professorof exercise and sport science at Penn State. "Rightnow steroid use is at an all-time high."

One reason, experts say, is the example set by pro-fessional and elite athletes. After Mark McGwire set arecord for homers in a season in 1998 and admittedusing the legal supplement androstenedione, a steroidsubstitute, sales jumped 1,000% and steroid use byteens of high school age crept upward. Among highschool seniors, disapproval of steroids dropped from

Kids, steroids don't mix

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2002, PAGE 1C

Page 12

Yet many teenagers look up to ballplayers, dowhatever it takes to get big(ger), strong(er)

Illustration by Sam Ward, USA TODAY

91% in 1997 to 86% in 2001 while the belief thatsteroids pose a great risk fell from 67% in 1997 to 59%in 2001, according to the 2001 Monitoring the FutureSurvey conducted by the University of Michigan'sInstitute for Social Research and sponsored by theNational Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Athletes are cultural icons, and some have greatinfluence," says orthopedic surgeon NicholasDiNubile, team doctor for the NBA's Philadelphia76ers. "They can use it in a positive or negative way,but it's not neutral. They're more than athletes."

The topic became front-page news again this yearwhen retired MVPs Jose Canseco and Ken Caminitiadmitted using steroids. A poll of 556 big-leaguersconducted by USA TODAY in June found 89% believethere is some steroid use in the game, 10% believemore than half of their peers are users and 44% feelpressure to use steroids to compete.

A separate USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll of baseballfans found 78% believe steroids contribute to therecent glut of offensive records. The season homerrecord, which stood for 37 years, has been surpassedsix times in the last four seasons. A record 62 homerswere hit last Tuesday in one day of games.

"I'll never hear that kind of number without won-dering" whether performance-enhancing drugs madeit possible, DiNubile says.

In USA TODAY's poll of players, 79% support inde-pendent steroids testing. Others have less concern.

"If guys are doing it, they're grown men," Anaheimoutfielder Garret Anderson says. "Everybody is enti-tled to make their own decisions."

Colorado outfielder Larry Walker agrees: "I don'tworry about what guys are doing. We've got betterthings to worry about in this game than that. Thisisn't the Olympics. If guys want to use andro and cre-atine and all that stuff, it's all right."

But noted orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, whotreats pro and amateur athletes in Birmingham, Ala.,believes young players model themselves after theirgrown-up sports heroes. "Whatever is being done atthe professional level is being handed down rapidly tothe collegiate level, the high school level and the pre-high school level."

Some players agree. Chicago White Sox shortstopRoyce Clayton favors testing: "It sends a message thatsteroids are a substance you don't want to messaround with and that there is no place for them in thegame. . . . We are role models, and that's the most

important thing a player has to understand. As soonas we test and the game is clean, the better it will befor everybody."

As kids use steroids, adults look other way

While some doctors and researchers believe moder-ate steroid use in adults can have positive results withfew side effects, almost all doctors agree steroids aredangerous for children and teens. But steroid use con-tinues to rise among youngsters.

Yesalis, author of Performance EnhancingSubstances in Sport and Exercise, cites a study pub-lished in 2000 that found prevalent use amongeighth-graders similar to that of high school seniors."We've shown use down to seventh-grade level," hesays. "It's scary for anybody to use these drugs, but inparticular women and children." A 1999 Youth RiskBehavior Surveillance study by the Centers forDisease Control and the 2001 Monitoring the Futuresurvey both show steady growth in steroid use byeighth- to 12th-graders.

It is not only young athletes who use them, Yesalissays. Because steroids can help turn a 100-poundweakling into a buff beach stud, they "make a youngperson feel more popular, more sexually attractive,"he says. But there is a price to pay. Anabolic steroidsare synthetic drugs related to male hormones.They're used medically to help AIDS patients improvestrength and appetite and to treat men for delayedpuberty, impotence and hypogonadism, a condition inwhich the testes are underactive.

For young athletes, steroids increase muscle massand strength and shorten the time for muscles torecover from a workout. They also have the psycho-logical effect of boosting assertiveness, giving a"pumped-up mental attitude," DiNubile says.

The downside is that they can cause hair loss,severe acne, infertility, masculinization of women(deepening of voice, growth of body hair, smallerbreasts) and feminization of men (shrunken testicles,enlarged breasts). Steroids also are thought toincrease the risk of stroke, heart disease and livercancer.

The drugs also can permanently stunt growth."Seniors in high school have, on average, grown to95% of their adult height," Yesalis says, "but in seventhgrade, they could permanently shut down theirgrowth plates. So if God had intended them to be 6-2,they could end up a muscular 5-4."

To counteract the negative effects, steroid userscombine drugs, a practice that could increase risks for

Steroids Case Study

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 13

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2002, PAGE 1C

young people, says DiNubile, a spokesman for theAmerican Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine."The ones who are good at this take diuretics to getrid of fluid retention, they take anti-estrogens, theybecome very sophisticated."

Top athletes have access to steroids through physi-cians, but "kids buy black-market stuff whose purityis questionable," Yesalis says. "They're more prone tocowboy chemistry," getting information from friendsor the Internet, increas-ing the risk of misuse.

Yet the demand contin-ues unabated, driven bythe desire to win and forthe money that brings."I see the kids in theoffice," DiNubile says."The coaches look theother way; their parentswant them getting thatscholarship. A lot of peo-ple look away when itcomes to steroids."

In a competitive socie-ty where "moral stan-dards are being sweptunder the rug," Yesalissays, the temptation is toreach the goal by anymeans.

"If you really believe in winning at all costs, andthat's how you raise your kids, drug use is not illogi-cal," he says. "I get about one call a year from one ortwo idiot parents who want my blessing to their useof growth hormone or anabolic steroids for a kid whois otherwise normal, but they want Johnny or Mary tobe a superstar. The conversations are very short, andI'm not very polite.

"Use of these drugs by kids in sports is wrong. Nodiscussion."

Severity and frequency of injuries rise

Unfortunately, DiNubile says, young people oftendon't believe that, in part because the medical com-munity erred in the 1970s and '80s by claimingsteroids did not increase strength or muscle mass.

"But the athletes knew, they realized they were get-ting gains and started experimenting with different

doses," he says. "So when we came out and said yes,it works but it's not safe, they didn't believe us."Adding to that is the universal belief of teenagers intheir indestructibility, he says. "They really don'tbelieve these things can harm them."

But they can. Andrews says he has noticed analarming increase in the instance and severity of liga-ment and tendon injuries. While he can't provesteroid use is a factor, he says these kinds of injuries

can result from stresson tendons caused byoverdeveloped muscles."In baseball players, wesee an increase in theincidence of rotator cuffinjuries, a large increasein (injuries to elbow lig-aments) related to thestress of throwing," hesays. The "real distress-ing aspect," he says, "iswe're seeing thesecareer-threateninginjuries in the shouldersand elbows of baseballplayers in younger andyounger age groups."

A USA TODAY data-base study showed a32% increase in stintson the major league dis-

abled list in the last 10 years. Injuries to large jointsincreased 58%, while all other injuries increased only5%. The number of injuries identified as tendon or lig-ament injuries in baseball jumped 224% between1992 and 2001.

Andrews has completed a study, not yet published,that looks at sports injuries in athletes under 18 andfound elbow ligament injuries and shoulder injuries inyoung athletes have increased dramatically. He does-n't know why. "We don't have the statistics to tell uswhat's going on, but we're all worried," he says.

That's a concern, because prolonged use of steroidsis likely to increase the chance of side effects, includ-ing those that might be life threatening, he says. "Idon't want to say it's causing these things all over theplace . . . but we know there are side effects andthey're being minimized by athletes. They thinkthey're invincible. But until we test for it and know(who is using the drugs), we'll be sitting here guess-ing.

Steroids Case StudyAS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2002, PAGE 1C

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 14

Medical experts strongly oppose use by teenagers

Rapid changes are signs to watchSome signs of steroid use can be mistaken for normal teenage develop-

ment, so it might be hard for parents, coaches and physicians to detect.Nicholas DiNubile, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at theUniversity of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, says parents can look forrapid changes such as:

* Improbable gains in lean body mass, muscle bulk and definition.* Increased aggressiveness or emotional ups and downs.* Advanced acne on chest and back.* Early male-pattern baldness.* Breast enlargement in boys.

Parents should be aware that when young people try to go off steroids,there can be a sudden weight loss that can lead to depression in young peo-ple whose body image is skewed, DiNubile says. "They think they've shrunklike air let out of a balloon."

Instead of resorting to steroids or other performance-enhancing sub-stances, he says, parents can help their kids work on sports skill trainingand capitalize on their natural abilities. "Try to make your great athlete thatway," he says. "For many centuries, that's how great athletes were built."

"The problem is the almighty dollar. Parents aredoing whatever they can to make professional ath-letes out of their children. Some start planning at 2years of age. There's a lot of enticement to do what isnecessary to enhance performance."

Cincinnati outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. sees the sameproblem at the major league level. "All you can do islive your life the right way and not worry about theother guys. You see things and you hear things, butwhat can you do? Guys know the risks, but they alsoknow there's big money out there."

Messages from pros carry weight

The lure of big muscles, an athletic scholarship or apro career is irresistible to many youngsters, DiNubilesays. "We need real vigilance here and for more par-ents and coaches to be aware."

Doctors can issue warnings, but they might nothave much impact, he says. Kids might need to hear itfrom more influential sources.

"It would be tremendously helpful," DiNubile says,"if some sports heroes would be more visible on this

issue, be willing to stand up, speak to our kids andeducate them. Because kids listen to their heroes."But Los Angeles first baseman Eric Karros says he'sdisturbed by the suggestion that steroid use by majorleaguers will create a cause-and-effect spike in use byyounger athletes. "If people make decisions based onsomething they've read or what a sports figure says, ifthat's solely how they make decisions, then there'sobviously a lack of parenting," he says.

But others in baseball see a responsibility.

"Our sport is a microcosm of society," Houston gen-eral manager Gerry Hunsicker says. "We know thatsubstance abuse, including steroids, is certainly aproblem throughout our society. To have our head inthe sand and convince ourselves that it's not a prob-lem is probably a bit naive and irresponsible. There'sgrowing evidence steroids are dangerous and caneven be life threatening. It certainly behooves all of usto come up with a meaningful education and controlpolicy."

Contributing: Mel Antonen, David Leon Moore andBob Nightengale

Steroids Case StudyAS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2002, PAGE 1C

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 15

About The ExpertDr. Michael S. Bahrke is an acquisitions editor in the Scientific, Technical, and Medical Division of HumanKinetics, Champaign, Illinois. He has been an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, director of researchfor the U.S. Army Physical Fitness School, fitness area coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, and projectdirector for a National Institute of Drug Abuse-funded research grant designed to investigate performance-enhancing substance use in the Chicago area.

Dr. Bahrke has authored more than 60 scientific articles, chapters, and books, including the recently published,Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise.

Dr. Bahrke completed his undergraduate degree in Physical Education at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse and received hisMaster's Degree in Exercise Physiology and Doctorate in Sport Psychology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He is a fellowof the American College of Sports Medicine.

For more information, log on to www.usatodaycollege.com

1. There are many adverse effects associated with the use ofperformance-enhancing substances. Develop a list of the physical,mental, and legal risks associated with the various substances suchas anabolic steroids, creatine, and ephedrine.

2. As a teacher, coach, or parent, what strategies would you use toprevent performance-enhancing substance abuse by yourstudents, athletes, or children? In addition to promoting healthynutrition and strength training programs, what other alternativesexist for preventing drug use in sports?

3. While some performance-enhancing substances such asanabolic steroids and amphetamines are illegal and banned bysports federations, other performance-enhancing substances suchas dietary supplements are not. How can consumers assurethemselves of the purity, content, and efficacy of nutritionalsupplements?

4. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that the drug testing ofstudents participating in extracurricular activities is not a violationof their constitutional rights. To what extent do you feel testingdeters students' drug use?

5. Develop a list of resources where you can obtain additionalinformation on performance-enhancing substance use in sports.

For discussion

Additional resources

Future implications

1. The number of new performance-enhancing substances, includingthose used to boost the production ofoxygen-carrying red blood cells, andtechnologies such as new drugdelivery systems and gene transfertherapy that have become availablerecently, is simply amazing. As asociety, how will we deal with thesenew substances and techniques asthey relate to the integrity ofcompetitive sports and the health ofathletes?

2. Some experts believe we willnever be able to completely eliminatedoping in sport. Should we go so faras to hold separate competitions forthose using drugs and thosecompeting drug-free? Wouldlegalizing drug use in professionalsports serve only to confirm reality,help level the playing field, orcompound existing problems?

Page 16

Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise edited by MichaelS. Bahrke and Charles E. Yesalis. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2002.

DRUGSTORY.ORG: Sponsored by the Office of National Drug ControlPolicyhttp://www.drugstory.org/(An informational resource for entertainment writers and featurejournalists.)

STEROIDABUSE.ORG: A service of the National Institute on Drug Abusehttp://www.steroidabuse.org/(A NIDA-sponsored web site featuring comprehensive information onsteroids.)

THE NATIONAL CENTER ON ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSEAT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITYhttp://www.casacolumbia.org/(Provides statistical information and commentary on drug-relatedissues.)

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH OFFICE OF DIETARYSUPPLEMENTShttp://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/(Provides information on programs, activities, and scientificresources concerning dietary supplements.)