ABSTRACT
One of the more controversial issues surrounding the use of steroids in the general population is drug testing of citizens who train recreationally in fitness centres and gymnasia. Although known to be liberal, Norway and Denmark are two among very few countries in which drug controls in gymnasia and fitness centres take place as part of the overall fight against doping in sport. Whereas, however, Norwegian anti-doping officers are only allowed to perform tests on individuals who have given written consent for them to do so and who cannot be sanctioned if they do not give their consent, officers from Anti Doping Denmark (ADD) may choose to test any individual training in a fitness centre or gymnasium that is part of the national anti-doping testing scheme, irrespective of their consent. The Danish scheme for testing recreational athletes training in gymnasia is probably the most comprehensive control scheme of this sort in the world. Despite the uniqueness of the regime, the other Nordic countries have shown interest in the system and acknowledged the potential of the unannounced tests to function as a preventive tool for the use of performance- and image-enhancing drugs in the general population. 1
