Do many surfers take anabolic steroids?

Anabolic steroids are used by surfers too. Sport governing body announces that prohibited medicines are an essential problem in this sport. That’s why the Association of Surfing Professionals decided to implicate testing for anabolic steroids and other prohibited drugs which are applied for performance-enhancing effects.
The Association of Surfing Professionals had some discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They asked how they could implicate testing for forbidden products into surfing. Since anti-doping program of the WADA is considered to be the best policy, the surfing organization desires to apply this protocol. It goes without saying that this is the next victory of the WADA which gives the opportunity to manage drug-testing programs in sports.
Everybody knows that surfing is a competitive sport. So, strength, speed and endurance are main skills that induce winning. So, surfers could think that usage of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs promotes success greatly. It is also important to take in consideration that amount of money which is obtained by winners is large. Winners obtain no less than 100, 000 dollars. Desire to receive money could lead surfers to decision to take anabolic steroids.
Nonetheless, it is said that administration of anabolic steroids and other medications which increase performance is not widespread in surfing. Numerous individuals believe that intake of recreational drugs is more widespread among surfers than intake of steroids. Sport of 1970s and 1980s was oftan associated with marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Current facts justify this impression. The number of surfers who are caught administrating marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine is quite high.
Andi Irons, a professional surfer, died in November 2010. A heart attack that he had was caused by drug abuse. It was determined that steroids hadn’t been implicated in this fatal case. Traces of methamphetamine, cocaine and methadone metabolites were found in his body.
Another surfer, Peter Davi, died in December 2007. Enhanced levels of meth were also found in his system.
As for Anthony Ruffo, another professional surfer, he was caught distributing meth.
Only Neco Padaratz, a professional surfer from Brazil, was caught administrating steroids. He was banned for one year. This person tested positive for prohibited preparations in 2004. This person claimed that he had taken these drugs to receive a complete recovery from back injuries. In spite of his defense, he was banned. He was the first person who was caught taking steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals. According to numerous sources, he remains to be the only surfer who has ever been caught by the ASP.
The ASP has already the primary budget to introduce the WADA steroid program into surfing.
While it is unlikely that steroids represent a problem in surfing, the new anti-doping program can create a wrong public impression.