A survey by the Erectile dysfunction treatment
of Glamorgan found as many as seven out of 10 people using gyms in the region take drugs to help their training.

More inactive lifestyles mean people are turning to steroids to get the shape they want, the study author says.

The research is unveiled on the BBC Radio Wales programme Eye on Wales.

Professor Bruce Davies carried out the research in gyms dedicated to heavy lifting in the south Wales valleys area, and says the findings replicate those of studies carried out in other parts of Wales.

He said: “We found by going into big lifting gyms that 70% of the attendants were using anabolic steroids.

“We've seen very similar studies in north Wales, in Cardiff and in Swansea, so I suspect there's a impotence pump number of people using anabolic steroids in Wales.”

Side-effects of the drugs can include baldness, impotence, developing milk-producing breasts in men and acne, and in misuse of anabolic steroids can cause heart and liver failure.

Professor Davies believes use has risen in former mining areas because of social changes.

“Gone are the days when you could get admiration by going down a mine -you didn't have to prove anything,” he said.

“Sadly those days are gone and now people are seeking other ways to gain admiration.

“When you think about it these days, most people are semi-debauched, we're not a very active society so the only way to acquire the muscles these people want is to weight train using anabolic steroids.”

Dealing

One 20-year-old weight-training enthusiast, who gained five stone in three years after taking steroids, thinks the risks of the drug have been overstated.

“It's down to the individual - if your diet's good and your training's good you should be fine,” he said.

“Ok, something could go wrong inside but that could happen to a normal person walking down the street. A lot of the risks are just word of mouth and I think a lot of things are exaggerated totally out of perspective.”

Possession and use of steroids is not illegal, provided it is a “medicinal form”, but dealing steroids is.

Katy Swaine, head of legal services at drug charity Release, thinks there is some ambiguity about what constitutes a medicinal form of the drug.

“The law on steroids still remains in a slightly unclear state and could certainly do with clarification now,” she said.

The research, entitled Steroid and Impotence injection Medicine - Abuses in the Natural cure for impotence
Gym user - a regional study, questioned 210 people at 100 heaving lifting gyms in the former Mid Glamorgan county area in 2005.

Eye on Wales is broadcast on BBC Radio Wales on Monday 3 July at 1800 BST.

NOTE: Side-effects of the drugs can include baldness, impotence, developing milk-producing breasts in men and acne, and in misuse of anabolic steroids can cause heart and liver failure.

The drug's maker Pfizer says it is considering submiting an application to European regulatory authorities to clear it for sale in pharmacies.

An estimated 27 million men have already used the little blue pill for erectile viagra soft generic
on prescription.

Medics said a change would be welcome but might mean other linked diseases were missed with no health check ups.

Ups and downs

Often, men with erectile dysfunction have underlying health problems such as diabetes, which can be spotted by their GP at the time they come for an anti-impotence prescription.

“If men can buy Viagra and rival anti-impotence drugs over-the-counter without a prescription, this opportunity is missed,” said Dr David Ralph from the Institute of Urology at University College London.

But there would be benefits too, he said, such as combating the problem of Viagra sold illegally on the internet from unknown sources, which may be fake and if taken with some medicines could be fatal.

He said it would be safe to buy over-the-counter provided the pharmacist did the necessary checks to ensure the medication was suitable for the patient.

Impotence solution factor

It might also be a more attractive option to men as going to see the GP about sexual problems can be embarrassing, he added.

But he cautioned: “There is more to sexual relations than an erection. There may be other problems.”

Viagra works by relaxing the blood vessels in the penis. This allows blood to flow into the penis causing an erection.

However, the drug is not an aphrodisiac and does not increase sex drive.

It is licensed only as a treatment for men who have been diagnosed by a doctor as having impotence.

Also, some men, such as those with severe heart disease or low blood pressure, should avoid it because of possible risks and side effects.

Viagra is not licensed for use in women and its safety in women has not been established.

A Pfizer spokesman said: “As with many of our products, Pfizer has routinely evaluated a number of options including different formulations, new erectile dysfunction treatment
, over-the-counter and continues to do so.”

He added that despite speculation there were no plans to pursue a spray version of the drug.

One of the impotence in woman images carries the strapline “Your penis thinks you should stop smoking” to highlight the risk of impotency.

Ministers say fears about fertility and attractiveness are stronger impotence advice for young people to quit than health.

A survey suggests one in two smokers would quit to improve their sex appeal.

The NHS Smoking Helpline questionnaire also revealed that more than two-thirds of young men and women believe smoking makes them less attractive.

Half of men said they muse for impotence
smoking with wrinkles, bad skin and less enjoyable kissing.

Another of the ads shows stark images of the effect of smoking on women's appearance and attractiveness to men, with messages such as “If you smoke, you stink”, “Minging teeth” and “Cat's bum mouth”.

Websites called “Staying Hard” and Ugly Smoking” will also be launched, alongside a sticker campaign in pub and club toilets.

Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said: “This latest series of adverts marks a new and exciting route for the campaign.

“A key part of our drive to reduce overall smoking prevalence is getting the message to impotence vacuum pump
young adult audiences.

Hard-hitting

“We know 70% of smokers want to stop smoking; however, with younger people, fears about attractiveness and fertility can be a stronger motivation to quit than fears about health.

“It is hoped that the hard hitting messages in this new campaign will make young people quit smoking for good.”

Smoking can damage your teeth

Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction by around 50% for men in their 30s and 40s and up to 120,000 men from the UK in this age group are impotent as a direct result of smoking, experts estimate.

Clive Gingell, chairman of the Sexual Dysfunction Association, said: “By making men aware of how smoking can affect their sexual performance in middle age, hopefully this new campaign should provide men with an additional and compelling reason to quit.”

Dr Bav Shergill, from the British Skin Foundation, said: “Giving up smoking can not only add years to your life, it also adds years to your appearance and can help stop premature aging before it's too late.”

However, Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said: “To try and suggest that smoking is a major cause of impotence is a scare tactic.

“It's nasty because it is not only setting out to diabetes and impotence
smoking, but really to make smokers feel incredibly guilty about their habit.”

Dr Moloy Prakash Sahu, who worked at the Wellman Clinic, 57 Harley Street, for a year, faced several allegations.

These ranged from providing treatment without medical justification to “irresponsible impotence product“.

The General Medical Council said his practice was “less than satisfactory” but did not amount to serious professional misconduct.

'Boost'

The four-day hearing was held after three patients at the clinic complained to the GMC.

It heard that the average patient was given a muse for impotence
course of impotence treatment made up of vitamins, creams and washes, costing 1,500 to 2,000 - many of which were “useless if not dangerous”.

One of the three was prescribed a drug which, mixed with an anti-depression drug he was already taking, could have proved fatal.

That patient was also treated for a condition he did not suffer.

Dr Sahu denied it was “irresponsible” to prescribe the drug Yohimbin to one man, saying: “He had erectile problems and it is a medicine you can give.”

He also said his employers at the clinic insisted vitamin injections be given as a matter of policy.

Dr Sahu admitted the “harmless” injection was a placebo and that he never told patients it had no medical justification, but said it could give a patient “a bit of a boost”.

'Less than satisfactory'

Dr Sahu, of Walthamstow, east London, worked at the clinic as medical officer between July 2000 and June 2001.

He said he became “dissatisfied” and quit the post because the clinic was badly managed and poorly equipped.

Dr Sahu was cleared of failing to ensure his patients were given sufficient information about their conditions, and failing to keep proper drug records.

The doctor was also acquitted of treating patients without the required expertise and failing to make sure patients gave proper or informed consent for treatment.

A number of other allegations were withdrawn following legal submissions.

The hearing's chairman John Shaw said: “These shortcomings taken together did not cross the threshold of serious professional misconduct.

“The committee therefore finds you not guilty of serious professional misconduct.”

Dr Moloy Prakash Sahu of the Wellman Clinic, 57 Harley Street, gave creams and pills which had “no evidence” of treating sexual problems, it heard.

He failed to check medical histories or possible impotence cure problems, said expert witness Laurence Sandler.

Dr Sahu denies serious herbal impotence remedy misconduct. The hearing continues.

Mr Sandler, of Wycombe General Hospital, said he had examined patient records and notes made by Dr Sahu and could not understand the drugs and other preparations that had been prescribed.

He noted Dr Sahu had spent little time talking through the sex problems of his patients before prescribing.

“I spend a long time talking to them. It is very difficult but you have to get a rapport with them. It is a very sensitive problem,” said Mr Sandler.

Psychological factors

Mr Sandler said the cause of low libido was often psychological, or caused by factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and drinking.

But Dr Sahu had failed to discuss this in detail with the patients, he said.

There was an average of a three month course of treatment made up of vitamins and washes for each man and the cost would be in the region of 1,500 to 2,000 Lynn Griffin, for the GMC

Mr Sandler also warned about Dr Sahu's prescriptions for the sex drug Viagra.

“There is a significant failure rate. It isn't a catch-all. It doesn't work all the time.”

The hearing was held after three patients at the clinic, which charges up to 2,000 a time for treatment, complained to the GMC.

Earlier, it was told that one patient who complained that a 12 week course of treatment had failed to work was “male sexual erectile dysfunction
” by an invitation to sign up for another course.

Another was prescribed a drug which, mixed with an erectile dysfunction and generic drugs
drug he was already taking, could have proved fatal.

That patient was also treated for a condition he did not suffer.

'True purpose'

Lynn Griffin, for the GMC, said Dr Sahu targeted “vulnerable men” suffering impotence problems to earn “ridiculous amounts of money”.

She said the doctor's “deference” to non-medically qualified members of the clinic's staff illustrated the “true purpose” of the establishment.

That “was to get vulnerable men to part with money for treatment which was not effective and certainly overpriced,” she said.

This clinic appears to have a standard form of treatment which is meted out regardless of the condition presented by the patient Lynn Griffin GMC

Dr Sahu prescribed a range of vitamins, herbal washes, creams and other drugs which were on the whole “inappropriate”, she said.

Often his contact with patients was “minimal”, while other staff persuaded them to sign up for treatments.

Ms Griffin also said the price of the treatments appeared excessive.

“There was an average of a three month course of treatment made up of vitamins and washes for each man and the cost would be in the region of 1,500 to 2,000,” she said.

Charges denied

She said despite each patient suffering a range of problems, the men were given similar treatment.

“This clinic appears to have a standard form of treatment which is meted out regardless of the condition presented by the patient.

“For most patients the prescribing was inappropriate - the drugs would have been ineffective and no matter how many washes and creams were given to these gentlemen along with these medications it would not have assisted their problem,” said Ms Griffin.

One patient told the hearing the clinic had since paid the costs of his treatment, plus interest, as a result of a small claims court ruling.

Dr Sahu, of Walthamstow, East London, denies 11 charges amounting to serious professional misconduct, arising from his treatment of patients at the clinic between July 2000 and June 2001.

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City man has sued the maker of the health drink Boost Plus, claiming the vitamin-enriched beverage gave him an erection that would not subside and forced him to seek hospital treatment.

The lawsuit filed by Christopher Woods, of Manhattan, said he bought the nutrition beverage, which is made by the Male sexual dysfunction Novartis pharmaceutical company, at a drugstore June 5, 2004.

Novartis's Boost Plus website describes the drink as “a great tasting, erectile dysfunction and generic drugs
, caffeine and erectile dysfunction
complete oral male impotence cure for people who require extra energy and protein in a limited volume,” in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

Woods' court papers said he woke up the next morning “with an erection that would not subside” and sought treatment for the condition, called severe priapism. They said Woods, 29, had surgery that day for implantation of a Winter shunt, which moves blood from one area to another.

The lawsuit, filed late Monday, said Woods had problems that days later required a hospital visit and penile artery embolization, a way of closing blood vessels. Closing off some blood flow prevents engorgement of the penis with blood and lessens the likelihood of an erection.

Woods' lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, names Novartis Consumer Health Inc. as a defendant. A spokeswoman for the company, Brandi Robinson, said Tuesday the company was aware of the lawsuit but did not comment on pending litigation.

Woods' lawyer did not return telephone calls for comment Tuesday.