Steroids Thailand – Can Buying Steroids in Thailand Cause Heart Problems and Liver Damage?
A growing number of amateur bodybuilders from Australia and the UK are travelling to Thailand in search of a more muscular physique. But their holiday isn’t all sun and sea, as the drugs they take can cause heart problems and liver damage. In one case, a Kiwi bodybuilder died after taking steroids purchased in the city of Pattaya.
The ease with which Australian and British bodybuilders can buy steroids in Thailand is attracting thousands of them to the country’s tourist capital every year, according to a report by Fairfax Media. The drugs are readily available in pharmacies and some doctors’ clinics, often at a fraction of the cost they fetch in Western countries.
Steroids are man-made medicines that mimic a natural hormone in the human body to help fight diseases, keep fluid balance and activate the immune system. They also boost muscle mass and endurance by increasing sex hormone levels and encouraging protein synthesis. But the side effects can be fatal, as Australia’s bodybuilding icon Aziz “Zyzz” Shavershian discovered in August 2011, when he collapsed in a Pattaya sauna from an undiagnosed heart problem, aged just 22.
Possession of anabolic steroids is illegal in many countries, including Thailand, where a prison sentence and fine are possible. However, the country’s central location and booming trade environment create an attractive market for international criminal networks to exploit. A thriving underground trade and lax laws make it easy for gangs to produce steroids in clandestine laboratories. The smuggled drugs are then shipped to markets around the world, often through Thailand’s sprawling airports. Steroids Thailand