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This Week In FDA History - April 26, 1976

Poster depicting Jesse Ventura explaining the dangers of steroids.
  Poster used in a 1987 education campaign aimed at teens, featuring then professional wrestler (and later governor of Minnesota) Jesse Ventura.
April 26, 1990:
The Anabolic Steroids Control Act is passed. The act set criminal penalties for illicit use of anabolic steroids and for coaches and others who try to persuade athletes to take the dangerous drugs.

FDA in 2006
The FDA monitors the marketplace for unapproved use of steroids and other substances that claim to have anabolic effects on the body, and takes action to prevent the sale of these illegal substances. ("Anabolic" refers to a substance's ability to stimulate muscle growth.) In its latest action, on March 9, 2006, the FDA issued warnings to several manufacturers of steroid products. "FDA takes its responsibility to protect Americans from dangerous unapproved
drugs seriously. Today's action is indicative of our resolve," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, FDA's Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, in announcing the warnings. Some of the problems associated with anabolic steroids include: liver toxicity, shrunken testicles and male infertility, masculinization of women, breast enlargement in males, short stature in children, and a potential to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
    
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