Citation

Kouri EM, Pope HG, Katz DL. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 1994; 271(5): 347.

Comment On:

JAMA 1993;270(10):1217-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, American Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8283582

Abstract

We read with interest the recent article of Yesalis and colleagues that found, on the basis of household survey data, that more than 300 000 Americans had used anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) during the year prior to the survey. We used these figures to estimate the total amount of money spent illicitly on steroids in the United States on a yearly basis. We performed this calculation with data from a recent interview study of 88 AAS users that we conducted over the past 3 years. In the study, 64 of these 88 users reported at least some AAS use during the year prior to interview. We calculated the total amount of each AAS that these subjects reported they had purchased during the prior year, and then estimated current street prices of each AAS using "underground" steroid guides, updated with information on current street prices of AASs supplied to us by several different knowledgeable subjects from our recent study. For example, our current estimate of the price for 100 tablets of oxymetholone (Andarol) was US$275, a 10mL vial of the veterinary steroid boldenone (Equipose) 50 mg/mL, was estimated to be US$275, and a 10 mL vial of testosterone cypionate, 200 mg/mL at US$100 oer vial. Using these estimates, we calculated that the mean amount spent on AASs in the past year by each user was US$1662, with a range of US$90 to US$6780. Combining these data with those of Yesalis et al produced an estimate of US$500 million spent annually on AASs in the United States -- a substantial underground economy....

Language: en