Further reading of the NICE recommendations concerning sharps safety and improved hygiene measures for piercers, and those offering borderline beauty treatments including Botox and dermal filler injections has shown an additional recommendation for sharps bin provision in all UK gyms.

Though obviously this last guidance can be risk assessed it would be difficult to assess injectable steroid and other injectable drug abuse unless there were needles and drug vials found in waste paper baskets and the like; for sure, few are likely to admit to it when asked.

We on the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum have been active in identifying steroid and other drug abuse in high street sports gyms and the like. It’s not popular. Though some visitors here may see this as an additional business opportunity the gym companies are vehemently against our suggestions presumably as it tarnishes their reputation and nice clean healthy image.

But the evidence for injectable drug abuse in gyms is strong, and is now a worldwide problem.

We have been speaking of this problem repeatedly on the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum, and or many years. There are many links on this site, as well as an additional array of information in the archive files.

It’s assuring that NICE have woken up to this problem, though it would have been more reassuring is HSE and the Environment Agency, and the various sports and gym associations would do likewise

But remember, you heard about it here first.