Lebanonwire, February 8, 2003

The Daily Star

Nada Raad
Daily Star staff

Many athletes are facing serious health problems from taking steroids, in the absence of necessary resources and relevant legislation to tackle the health issue, according to Sports and Youth Minister Sebouh Hovnanian.
Following a conference he attended in France three weeks ago, where steroid use was tackled, the minister is currently working on formulating national laws to curb steroid use.
Used by athletes to build muscles and boost athletic performance, oral or injectable steroids are man-made substances which are usually purchased by prescription.
Speaking at his ministry, Hovnanian told The Daily Star that steroids are prohibited worldwide due to the dangerous side-effects on people’s health, such as aggressive behavior, heart damage, injuries to ligaments and joints and other dysfunctions.
“If prescribed by a doctor, steroids are not dangerous, but have side-effects when taken in large quantities and on a continuous basis,” he said.
There should be laws that dictate their use because they are affecting the young, particularly now that many sport clubs are recommending them to 14-year-old athletes, the minister said. He added that steroids are sold in some sport clubs but he refrained from naming them.
He said that the ministry will tackle the problem by launching an awareness campaign in schools, universities and clubs to explain the substance’s side-effects, as users often have little knowledge of their consequences on human health.
The minister said that during the conference in France, which was attended by 50 ministers and delegations from more than 100 countries, participants tried to tackle the steroid problem by formulating local and international laws capable of controlling it worldwide.
He added that the ministry, in coordination with Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, is working on the issue under the framework of a French law that classes them as prohibited drugs. Their prohibition would enable the ministry to punish violators and control the issue, he said.
Another conference will be held at the end of February in Copenhagen, where countries will present recommendations on laws relating to steroids, the minister added.
He said that steroids could also be controlled by testing athletes before and after competitions, which is difficult to realize here because the ministry lacks the necessary equipment.
Many athletes in the country take steroids during competitions to strengthen their physical condition and improve their performance, he said. He also mentioned Lebanese body-builder Youssef al-Zein, who was stripped of the bronze medal he won in the over-90-kilogram class at the Asian Games last year for not taking a mandatory drug test.
When competitions take place here, the ministry sends
participants’ steroid tests to Tunisia or Greece because they are the nearest countries possessing the required  equipment.
Such tests are not frequently undertaken because they are expensive, as each athlete’s test costs around $300, he asserted.
Hovnanian said a meeting of Francophone sports ministers will be held on March 14 here to decide in which country the 2009 Francophone Games will take place.
He asserted that if held in Lebanon, the Francophone committee will provide donations in order to improve testing capabilities.
If Beirut is chosen, the ministry will ask for steroid testing equipment, costing some $5 million and which can be placed in the Beirut Government Hospital.

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