The ease of acquiring performance-enhancing drugs in Thailand – and the low price – has led to an influx of amateur bodybuilders from Australia and further afield who visit to undergo ‘steroid holidays’. The use of steroids, which are illegal in Australia, can have serious health and legal consequences. Australian Jarrad Fisher told the ABC in May that his steroid holiday to Pattaya helped him bulk up from a 70kg teenager to full-fledged bodybuilder, but he admits that the ‘holidays’ can also have deadly consequences.
There is a huge black market in these substances, fuelled by the fact that most are legal in Thailand, and the cost of steroids is significantly cheaper in this country than in Australia. The drugs are widely available in shops throughout the country, and can even be sent to buyers via express mail (a metal elephant statue was stopped by Customs at Sydney airport on Boxing Day, reportedly containing 12,000 steroid tablets).
While steroid laws vary from country to country, a growing number of pharmacists in Thailand do not require prescriptions for the purchase of these products, and clinics will often write a script for a small fee if asked. This practice is not unlike the medical certificates you can get for a road test in Thailand, which are issued without any medical checks being done – just handed over for 100 baht. Aside from the risk of steroid withdrawal, the long-term use of these drugs can cause a wide range of adverse side effects in men and women. These include hair growth, acne, high cholesterol and a decrease in sperm count, which can lead to sterility in some cases. Steroids Thailand
