A report on steroid use by pro baseball players is out, and you might be surprised what one UW Hospital doctor has to say about the subject. Dr. Norman Fost, a medical ethicist and physician at UW Hospital, compares the release of a report on steroid use in baseball to the Salem Witch Trials. Fost says if today's players have an advantage over their predecessors, or competitors it's not necessarily because of the dope. “New ballparks deliberately make the fences shorter, so there will be more home runs,” says Fost.
Fost admits steroids do have unpleasant side effects, but he says there is no research to prove that they lead to long-term health problems like cancer, heart attacks, or strokes. However, he doesn't recommend them for teen athletes. The Mitchell Report on the use of steroids in Major League Baseball was released Thursday afternoon.