The authors of this article review the prevalence of misuse, the evidence that some drugs improve performance in sport, their side-effects, and the long-term consequences of anabolic androgenic steroid misuse for society at large. The following topics are discussed:

• Prevalence of doping in sport and society

• Substances prohibited in sports

• Do doping agents improve sporting ability?

• Adverse reactions to doping agents

• Under-reporting of side-effects

• Detection of misuse

• Prevention