An example: American high school athletes and drugs
Pharmacological Roulette With Our High School Athletes
It has been said that we are engaged in a dangerous game of pharmacological roulette with our nation¡¦s young athletes. ¡§Statistics clearly demonstrated in 1999 that performance enhancing drugs and supplement use by high school and collegiate athletes was on the rise. The 2003 Monitoring the Future Study, administered by the University of Michigan under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, showed that 3.5% of 12th graders had taken steroids, up from 2% a decade earlier, leading to an increase of usage by 60%. Experts estimate that between 500,000-600,000 minors nationwide have taken the drugs by high school graduation. Teens are also using performance-enhancing dietary supplements at an alarming rate. In October 2003, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced the results of a nationally representative survey showing that 1.1 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 had taken ¡§potentially dangerous performance¡Venhancing supplements and drugs.¡¨ Over two-thirds of those surveyed were unable to name any of the potential side effects of steroids and supplements, including ephedra. Teen use of steroids and supplements is up, and the understanding of their dangers is down.
¡¯ Statistics numbers can support your argument to clarify your point and make it more powerful.
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