According to information released by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) in Ireland, nearly 50% of all of the counterfeit and illegal medication that had been seized by government agents in this country were anabolic steroids.
The HPRA has also gone on record as stating that anabolic steroids are flooding into Ireland at a rate never before seen. Numerous government agencies in Ireland are working to crack down on these counterfeit and illegal medication, and the volume of these medicines that have been seized over the last three years has escalated so high that government officials and public health officers are getting really concerned.
John Lynch, a director of compliance at HPRA has been one of the most vocal supporters of the effort made by the Irish government to remove as many illicit and illegal medicines from the market as humanly possible. Recognizing that the domestic black market for these kinds of drugs is at an all-time high in Ireland, he has been advocating specifically for increased resources to help push back against this kind of drug trafficking.
Lynch has also spoken about the apparent demand increase for anabolic steroids that has spiked across Ireland, coinciding with sky high demand for other muscle building drugs and supplements – both over-the-counter and prescription grade. Lynch has called on the bodybuilding and athletic communities to do everything in their power to encourage fellow athletes to abandon the pursuit of anabolic steroids and other illegal drugs, really highlighting just how devastating these kinds of chemicals can be to the human body in both the short and long-term.
Lynch, and officials at the HPRA, recognize that the demand isn’t going to show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The demand for anabolic steroids has climbed higher and higher even as more people are detained and punished by the law when they are caught trafficking or using anabolic steroids, and it seems as though public service announcements designed to really shine a light on the devastating impact in about steroids have on the body haven’t been as successful as anticipated, either.
The HPRA has provided a number of different research reports showing just how bad long-term use of anabolic steroids can be they have conclusively proven that liver damage, blood clots, stroke, heart attacks, reduced sperm count, and infertility are all just some of the major side effects related with anabolic steroid use – but still the public hasn’t turned away from these drugs as much as has been hoped.
Officials for HPRA state that they confiscated almost 950,000 individual dosages of illegal medication in 2017 alone. This was a 40% increase from the amount of illegal medication seized in 2016, and the increase for 2018 is expected to be even higher than that.
When it to the amount of individual anabolic steroid dosages that had been seized or confiscated by the Irish government in 2017, that figure sits at just under 450,000 individual units. That’s nearly 50% of ALL illegal medication seized by the Irish government, increasing nearly 400% from the amount of anabolic steroids and steroid substances seized in 2016.
In 2015, only 38,000 individual units of anabolic steroids were seized. The demand for the steroids has grown by leaps and bounds, and Ireland is dealing with a real epidemic on their hands here.
Interpol has started to get involved with the Irish government agencies to see what they can do to help stem the tide of drug trafficking, particularly when it comes to anabolic steroids, in Ireland today. The number of major sting operations have already been conducted in 2018, and it isn’t unreasonable to think that more are executed before the year is over.
Close to one million units of illegal medicines detained by the HPRA in 2017. April 17, 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.hpra.ie/HOMEPAGE/medicines/news-events/item?t=/close-to-one-million-units-of-illegal-medicines-detained-by-HPRA-in-2017&id=fe9d0a26-9782-6eee-9b55-ff00008c97d0