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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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2 3 - 0 1 - 2 0 0 6 Drug doctor muscled out
By EDITH BEVIN A NSW doctor has been ordered to retire or face being de-registered for over-prescribing steroids to club and hotel security staff.
Dr Peter William Stewart, who denies any wrongdoing by prescribing the drugs, must shut his Lismore practice down today after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the medical tribunal in November. If he refuses to retire today, he will only be allowed to work under the supervision of another medical practitioner. Dr Stewart will also be banned from prescribing, possessing or administering anabolic steroids or androgenic steroids. The doctor, with more than 40 years experience, faced the medical tribunal after a Health Care Complaints Commission investigation into the number of prescriptions he was writing for steroids. The drugs were largely prescribed to patients who worked in the security industry. Dr Stewart maintains he has done nothing wrong, describing the medical tribunal as "a kangaroo court". "Everyone knows that these substances are banned in sport. Is the job of a security guard a sport?" he said. "I thought not and believed it was my duty as a medical professional to supervise and monitor their use when my patients told me that the veterinary stuff was making them ill, the price was extortionate and risky to obtain. "The vet stuff is for bulls or stallions, not humans. "I believe these workers should be able to gain access to steroids under medical supervision instead of resorting to veterinary supplies that are often unfit for human use." Some of Dr Stewart's security guard patients travelled more than 2 hours to his Lismore practice. The 76-year-old has written to Premier Morris Iemma asking for laws to be drafted allowing working, registered security guards to obtain these supplies under the supervision of medical professionals. Dr Stewart was also fined $10,000 by the tribunal and ordered to pay court costs. 0 4 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 6 Banned Doctor claims "payback"
SHAN GOODWIN A SET of old-style scales, a desk with no computer and a jar of jelly beans. This was Dr Peter Stewart’s surgery. Each patient’s information was neatly placed in a pocket on his door on a pink or blue card, depending on their sex. As they came in, his secretary asked what their family members were up to. It was the type of practice where everyone felt at home. One of the last of its kind. Dr Stewart practised in Lismore for 43 years and, if you speak with some of the more than 1000 patients he had on his books when he retired, he was ‘nature’s gentleman’. He was known as ‘Doctor Delivery’, having brought hundreds of Northern Rivers children into the world. He was also known as the ‘Farmer Doctor’, being the owner of the last piece of undeveloped farmland between Lennox Head and Ballina — prime multi-million dollar real estate on which he runs a few hundred head of cattle. And now, in the twilight of his career, he has been labelled the ‘Steroid Doctor’. The 76-year-old shut his Conway Street practice on January 24 after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the NSW Medical Tribunal. Given the option of working only when there was another medical practitioner on site, he chose instead to retire. Brought before the tribunal last November, he was prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission which had received complaints over the number of prescriptions he had written for anabolic and androgenic steroids. The steroids were largely prescribed to patients who worked in the security industry. Dr Stewart maintained he acted in the best interests of his patients. "I’m human," he said. "And why would a human want to see another taking veterinary supplies? This way, I could monitor and supervise their use." In his experience, steroid use under these circumstances had not caused anyone damage. It is this opinion which has proven most controversial. But controversy is not something new to Dr Stewart and it seems he didn’t mind upsetting the apple cart amongst the medical profession. Outspoken on problems with North Coast Area Health and the anaesthetists’ debate, and one of the last doctors to support the circumcision of baby boys, Dr Stewart more than once drew criticism from his colleagues. But the respect he commands from patients is phenomenal. They are standing by him, claiming his prosecution was a witch-hunt and writing to the NSW Premier to express their disgust. In the end, that’s all that matters, says Dr Stewart. 0 6 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 6 Steroids stand was dangerous: Expert
Lismore Northern Star
IT’S the fact that former Lismore GP Peter Stewart is so respected that makes his actions so dangerous, according to androgenic anabolic steroid expert Dr Robert Weatherby. Dr Stewart retired last month after being found guilty of misconduct by the NSW Medical Tribunal for over-prescribing anabolic and androgenic steroids. Dr Weatherby, a Lismore-based associate professor, was in charge of the drug screening laboratory at the Sydney Olympics and has spent the past 11 years researching steroid use. He says there is no debate over the health dangers of steroid use. They have been shown scientifically. "Dr Stewart is obviously well-respected, well-liked and trusted and that presents the biggest danger. He is an opinion leader in the community," Dr Weatherby said. "If he says there is no harm in taking steroids, people will believe him. "And that could undo an enormous amount of educational work trying to get the message out to people about the dangers." Dr Weatherby said it was not just the health of patients who took the steroids at risk. "A bouncer could be potentially very dangerous if in a situation where they make the wrong decision," he said. Dr Weatherby said he believed Dr Stewart had not been keeping up with the latest research and genuinely thought there was little danger. "He’s 76. He did his training and education at a time when steroids were accepted and, in fact, athletes were encouraged to use them," he said. He said there was a valid therapeutic place for anabolic and androgenic steroids. "That is in assisting people to recover from major surgery, for hormonal disturbances, in boosting red blood cell production, osteoporosis, advanced breast cancer and with diseases affecting pituitary and related glands," he said. "But not to improve the job performance of security guards." |
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