Teenage steroid use.

• Position: GRAPH > DEBATE/NATIONAL - Brief article

The use of illegal, performance enhancing drugs has become a scandal in professional sports like baseball, cycling, and track and field (see p. 27).

The problem, however, is hardly limited to the pros. Surveys have found that tens of thousands of high school. athletes have used steroids and other illegal substances to help them bulk up or improve their performance on the field.

Aside from the ethical. issues involved in cheating to gain an unfair advantage, medical experts say that using steroids can Iead to extremely serious side effects. They include increased hostility and aggression, tendon weakness, severe acne, and even a higher risk of cancer. In addition, some teens who have suddenly stopped using steroids have experienced dangerous depression.

ANALYSIS THE GRAPH

1. In 2003, the difference, in percentage points, between 10th-graders who had ever used steroids and those who had used steroids in the past year was about

   (a) 1.3 (c) 1.7 (b) 1 (d) 1.1 2. Between 2003 and 2005, the percentage of 12th-graders who had ever used steroids declined by about

   (a) 15% (c) 25% (b) 20% (d) 30% 3. In 2003, 8th-graders, who are not shown on the graphs, reported the same Iifetime usage of steroids as 12th-graders did for usage of steroids in the past year. What was that 8th-grade figure on...