YOUNG gym users are being warned to not give in to the temptation of steroid use after a local gym user broke his silence over the emerging culture.

The 21-year-old, who declined to be named, trains mostly in gym and said he had seen teens as young as 16 experimenting with the drug.

He claims his gym has up to 15 dealers who can provide “juice'' or “gear'' within days.

“It's so readily available it's not even funny it's as accepted as taking protein,'' he said.

“A 10-week cycle can cost from $300 to a few thousand dollars.''

He was concerned that youths who hadn't finished growing naturally were keen to use steroids because they were too impatient to allow natural muscle gain.

He said his brother who was still in high school was already asking questions about steroids.

The man said that most users were well aware of the dangerous side effects which could occur.

“When you take juice you are shocking your body with a heap of testosterone, so you have to take oestrogen blockers or else you'll end up with man boobs.''

Matthew Dunn, a lecturer at the National Drug and Alcohol Centre (NDARC), said gynecomastia (man boobs) was a common side effect.

“My advice for people who are considering using steroids is to look at the side effects, not just the positive ones,'' Mr Dunn said.

“Some physical ones are acne, water retention, hair loss and gynecomasty.''

“Users often have to take a whole range of things to counter-act the steroids, like diuretics and oestrogen blockers.''

Mr Dunn said users were often looking for a quick fix, which inevitably leads to extended use.

“Rather than looking at rest patterns, diet, nutrition and types of exercise, they go from point A to point Z by taking steroids.''