A rise in the use of steroids in Peterborough has led to concerns for the safety of body builders in the city.
Staff at the city’s needle exchanges have been surprised to find a fifth of all needles handed in have been specifically used for steroids, more than previously thought.
Out of 350 people who used needle exchanges in the city in the first quarter of this year, 58 handed in steroid needles at the exchange.
It is thought that many of the users of steroids in the city are body builders. As the high steroid usage has just been discovered, drug support agencies are unsure if users are injecting safely or putting themselves at risk.
Karen Kibblewhite, community safety and substance misuse manager for the Safer Peterborough Partnership, said: “Anecdotal evidence indicates that it is possibly Eastern Europeans who regularly attend local gyms who are the main users. Improved harm reduction work with this group will be developed and delivered over the coming year.”
Support will be targeted at needle exchanges in the city. Needles used for steroids are different to those for other drugs, as steroids are injected into muscles, not the bloodstream.
The needles often have to be forced into the arm or the buttocks and injuries can occur.
There are also dangers of cross contamination from used needles, with infections including HIV and hepatitis posing particular risks. Other dangers of steroids include increased aggression levels.
Steroids are class C drugs and it is illegal to possess or use them. They come in two forms, either in tablets, or liquid to be injected.
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