Again, we are at war, we have a recession going on, and we have illegals running over our borders and demanding rights they do not deserve, and the congress is running around trying to incriminate folks for messing up their own bodies????

And…exactly WHO has gone to see Rambo??? How is the revelation that Stallone is a chemical head going to hurt young minds?

Give me a break..too many other important things going on to waste time on this.

This is ridiculous. Rambo was always lean and ripped, not huge and muscular. Totally unnessary.

If Stallone is encouraging youngsters to try HGH, it’s not their drug use I’m worried about, it’s their utter cluelessness about biochemistry…

If you have adequate levels of HGH, all research seems to indicate that taking more will not help you to any great extent. It’s during middle age when your HGH starts to drop that you gain benefits from using it. Obviously if it’s available by prescription, there ARE valid reasons for using it.

The “OMG drugs roids doping the kids are going to die” paranoia plays quite well on TV, but there’s a big difference between an 18 year old injecting testosterone and a 65 year old male cancer patient doing the same. At some point it would be nice for you guys to write informative articles instead of making an 8th grade reading level the primary objective.

He had to take SOMETHING. The guy is 60 years old. Give him a break. Go Sly! You do whatever you gott a do to keep Rambo alive.

So what?

About time someone came forth who says the truth.

I doubt that young athletes will be influenced in anyway by Stallone. The number one reason being many of them probably don’t even know who Rambo is. Second, Stallone taking some pills for a movie role will go virtually unnoticed when dozens of professional ballplayers start serving suspensions. Also to mention, why does it come to anyone’s surprise that this happened in Hollywood anyway? Are testosterone pills any different from face lifts and breast implants? Being older than most pro athletes and younger than Rambo I can tell you I still look up to the Pros and scoff at any “news” that comes out of California.

Stalone will pay the piper in due time. It’s an end loaded investment that could cost a lot more than he imagined.

Given how bad Sly is looking these days, I’d think this one of the strongest anti-drug examples available.

And oh yeah - any young men who are thinking of utilizing testosterone to ‘bulk up’ should read up on how use of that substance affects other parts of the male physique.

The recent flood of movies resurrecting aging “action heroes” is ripe ground for a satirical comedy on the order of Airplane or Naked Gun.

I can think of several good scenes off the top of my head involving, for example, putting on glasses to identify suspects and being able to sprint 12 feet without rest.

Why on earth are “congressional investigators” wasting their time on such a trivial matter? Why don’t they do right by our tax dollars and investigate George Bush for war crimes, among other things.

Actors and athletes are entertainers. Entertainers do all sorts of things to their bodies in order to look fit, beautiful etc. Boob jobs, liposuction, extreme diets, smoking etc. We don’t investigate actors. Why do so with athletes? It is their body they are screwing up. Who cares if they want to risk it? Congress certainly has more important issues to deal with than whether some over-paid baseball player or has-been actor is taking performance-enhancing drugs. Those same senators all take Viagra anyway!

When I turned 40 my doctor advanced the option of Testosterone therepy. It has improved my quality of life. I agree with Mr. Stallone on this, after 40 you would be wise to consider it.

But as with anything (food, petroleum products, prescription drugs, etc) there are always those who will use them in ways that they are not intended. Especially kids these days who do not want to take responsibility for their actions.

I am not surprised. I know other 60 year olds who work out and they don’t look like him so it had to be some type of steriods. “Oh, Adrian!! I did it!!!!

I disagree with your assessment. Stallone NEVER advocates the use of HGH ILLEGALLY. Neither does he advocate it for a competitive advantage. The key word is COMPETITIVE. For athletes, it would be cheating in a competitive sporting enviornment. Your article mentions both “prescription HGH”, and his own decree and opinion that for men over 40 who suffer a natural drop in testosterone it could improve the quality of their life.

He doesn’t advocate the use of it to win a Cy young award for example or become home run king, but (alleged) cheating and make millions of dollars for it. Remember, their is NO scientific evidence that is Conclusive that HGH is harmful like steroids that cause roid rage, and cancer etc….

If their is evidence that is in any way detrimental to a person’s health, I’m sur e the EXPERTS at the FDA will make it totally illegal.

The truth is there are everyday drugs being prescribed to athletes that don’t need them. Maybe there should be better oversight of doctors who take money from drug companies to promote their products that have how many side effects???? You get a drug for allergies, and you get kidney problems in return. Please.

Worst of all, don’t accuse him of promoting something he hasn’t. Him mentioning everyone over 40 doesn’t make him guilty of promoting to young athletes or professional athletes who 99 percen of which retire before age 40 in whatever sport.

Who cares if Sly used HGH!!!!!!! Why does Congress care if hgh was used in baseball. With all the problems we have today with the economy, infrastructure, Iraq, etc. Congress is investigating steroid use in baseball, and now probably movies.

This is what’s called ‘open discussion’. Virtually all of the talk we’re inundated with about steroids and HGH is around the dangers, it’s healthy and necessary for the Stallone’s and Canseco’s of the world to offer their opposing viewpoint. The last thing we need is to be brainwashed that there’s only one perspective on this

will not debate the ethics of steroid use (though I’m sure a lot of the regular food people consume now is so chemically enhanced to already be less then natural); I am just amazed at articles or people that imply anyone “developed those muscles through chemistry” only and nothing else; maybe steroids help, but only in combination with a high degree of discipline and committment for regular exercise and eating right; steroids or not, “Rambo” did not just sit on the couch and eat Twinkies all day and get fit, he was up and active —- something perhaps this fat and obese nation can take notice of right after they finish off their next cheeseburger and take a swig from their biggie soda!

Grow up Stallone.

I don’t see how anyone could be shocked by Sly’s statement on his doctor-regulated steroid use. It simply wouldn’t be possible to achieve the kind of muscle mass he did for Rambo at his age without them. He’s not trying to break athletic records or compete in a major sports league against players who aren’t using steroids, so I feel that the parallels drawn between Stallone and MLB are an “apples to oranges” comparison.

There is growing evidence that these treatments (along with the right diet and exercise) do ease the effects of aging on the body. As old as Sly’s getting, he’s obviously doing something right if he can still shoot action films.

With all the other issues facing our country, does congress really have that much time to deal with steroid use in sports?

I agree that performance enhancing drugs should be banned in all professional sports. That being said, I think HGH has some huge potential benefits for certain people. If HGH can increase the quality of life in some older people, I say why not? Of course, the complete effects do need to be fully investigated, but I’m confident the negative side effects will be minimal. Many HGH medicines cause the body to produce the hormone yourself I believe, so it’s really no different than if you exercise and eat right.

If we are privileged to have such cinematic works as “Freddy vs. Jason” and the can’t be missed “Alien vs Predator” shouldn’t Stallone consider a “Rocky vs. Rambo” finale to his career? Perhaps Stallone could make that film when he is 71, buying his testosterone over the counter…

This editorial is unfortunately uninformed. What Sly is referring to is testosterone replacement therapy, a regimen utilized and supported by many physicians for the well-being of an aging male who has decreased his testosterone production (think of women past menopause and hormone replacement therapy). I do not disagree that he [likely] may have abused the substance to gain that much muscle, but to demonize the substance without acknowledging its merits when utilized appropriately for its medically beneficial effects is not appropriate.

As a professional pharmacy student, I know that we as a scientific community do not fully understand hormone physiology. The full benefits of such therapy are not yet known. However, lets not forget that we don’t have a full understanding of possible physiologic damages. Don’t be fooled by Stallone’s claims of glory, there will be physical ramifications.

Good movie though. I recommend it.

Why does the state care what you put in your body, which can make you into a better, more productive citizen after 40? It’s non-addictive, won’t make you turn to crime any more so than alcohol. Supplements and a hard work out keep you young and remove 10 years of aging.

What a dictatorship we live in.

Why are we bothering with this? Nobody is being hurt here. The public is getting what it wants. The players, the movie actors are getting what they want. Our prisons are overflowing with drug cases already, so we need another class of drugs putting people behind bars? For God’s sake, this is absurd. If otherwise responsible adults want to do this, let them. The only thing that I would consider a problem, and it should probably be a civil suit matter, is giving someone something like HGH or steroids without their knowledge. If there is informed consent, leave it.

Thank God somebody said it. Hormone therapy in the form of HGH is a valuable tool, not only for those wanting an aesthetic outcome but to combat the effects of aging. Other steroids, as a form of therapy, have benefits as well. The problem comes with abuse as it is with virtually any other medicinal or psuedo-medicinal agent.

Sly is right. These things will be over the counter eventually. The only reason they aren’t now is oral dosages have to be so high to be effective that it destroys your liver and it’s hard to market something that requires regular injections. The day will come when these matters are overcome and hormone therapy will be widely accepted.

It is sad the article fails to distinguish between the legitimate use of hormone therapy for anti-aging purposes and the abuse of it by young people. The author apparently does not realize that Stallone and many other men over the age of 40 (unlike younger men) properly get hormones, including testosterone and HgH, by legal prescription from doctors.

Criticizing that legitimate use of hormones by someone like Stallone is like criticizing the use of knee replacements, heart stents, and reading glasses as “artificial performance enhancers.”

Let’s raise the level of analysis here rather than going for the quick sensational piece. Stallone, with his amazing physical condition, is an excellent role model for all those 60-somethings with their beer guts (something in common with most younger guys) who are content to sit on their fat flabby asses watching sports on TV until they die of a heart attack or stroke. HgH is apparently a key contributor to Stallone’s excellent health and fitness. I am glad he is spreading the word.

Fred, you assume that substance USE will automatically equal substance ABUSE. That’s faulty logic. Look, there’s a difference between athletes, and actors, and the rest of us. Athletes are competing against each other, and long standing records that predate the chemistry. So I think it’s fair to say to athletes, “achieve it with diet, excercise, and determination”. But actors, and the rest of us… Why should we be bound by this? If we weren’t allowed to improve the quality of our lives through Chemistry, then what the heck are any of us doing going to the Doctor? I think Stallone is right, and you are wrong.

They say knowledge is power. Congress is showing that they dont have a clue. I dare you to try and find a case where steriods caused someones death. You won’t, but you will find studies saying that use of these substances are extremely benificial to the human body.

Yes, if abused you can cause hard, but if you abuse tylenol you could kill yourself.

Also, we know cigarettes kill you. 100% sure! Is anything done to stop this no. Its ok because its big business…

This whole steroid issue is blown out of proportion, so many bigger issues in the world to worry about. The media compares Anabolics to heroin use it seems like, what about all the prescription drugs that are killing people every day and the government is banking billions off it ? Cigarettes, alcohol ? Then let’s talk about cosmetic surgery, everything imaginable can be done at a higher risk than Steroids but that’s OK ? Roid rage ? There is no evidence of that, just another media fabrication. Stallone has the guts to admit it at least that’s more than most. Shall we forget that a Senator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has done more testosterone, anabolics and HGH than the entire Nation Baseball League combined ? This is nothing new, steroids have been a secret for many years, and there will be many more names brought up as users, it’s just something new for the media to talk about. Britney Spears is a bigger issue than Iraq in this world. Let’s get our priorities straight and deal with things that really matter.

What a joke. Let’s try to get perspective on the real issues facing humanity today. What someone chooses to put in their own bodies, harmful or not, is nobody else’s business until it starts to hurt someone else. What a dictatorship is right!

Yeah, whatever it takes! We’d be living under a dictatorship if Rambo hadn’t been able to defend our constitution. Now if he would eat his Wheaties too, I’d really feel safe.

Where can I buy some HGH? Hope i can look like that at 60, I’m almost there

Just saying pretty much what everyone else is saying.

The government sticking its nose into what reasonable clear thinking adults are doing is unacceptable. Smoking, drinking and many other things that are legal are proven to be far more dangerous are still legal and are even taxed. If it harms no one else, there should be no issue with it, its their bodies and their choice.

Nailing baseball players for using a drug does not turn kids or prospective users away from it, it calls attention to it. The smarter thing to do would be investigate it, research it more, prove and list reasons why people shouldnt use it. The ability to CHOOSE not to use something is often more powerful then being told not to use it

Wasting money to call hearings and investigations on this is absurd and one of the many obvious reasons why our economy is in the drink. Handle the war, handle the economy, poverty, immigration, going to mars, pollution.. things that effect everyone. Pick one.

I say good job Congress - them there drugs were concoctionated by Science, and Science made up that dadgum evolonutionary fooey, so its gotta be bad, because the guvment says so

HGH supplementation has done wonders for people over the age of 40. There have been many published studies that show weight loss, younger skin, regrowing hair and many more benefits. I just laugh at these people who go crazy over this stuff. These people eat fast food everyday, don’t get enough exercise and have poor overall health. Yet people want to pass judgement on people who cork out everyday and take care of their bodies.

RAMBO: The Bloated Years

Who cares! The issue with the professional athletes is fairness of the game. Look, if you’re not a pro and want to get buffed up, then by all means do what you have to do. If you’re not a pro, but use chemicals to get you into the game then that, in my book, is wrong. There is a line between what stallone is doing as an actor and what a professional athlete is doing for an edge.

As usual Congress Is trying to run our lives when they should be fixing our Country.It should be no one’s business what someone does to their body as long as they take full responsibility for the consequence’s.Big Government should stay out of our lives.

How Ironic.

In the 1984 hit sequel ‘Rocky IV,’ Stallone plays the part of the underdog, honest, hard working boxing champion meeting the evil, medically enhanced, drug consuming ‘model Soviet man’.

At the end of the movie, the disciplined devotion to the sport won out over the temporary, medically enhanced fraud.

I have nothing but the highest respect for Sylvester Stallone - he has achieved much over the last 30 years, but in my humble opinion, another ‘Rocky’ or another ‘Rambo’ movie is a mistake - as with all of us, unfortunately, we get old. Again, in my humble opinion, Stallone should have left his contributions to American society - 5 Rocky Movies and 3 Rambo movies - alone. I believe they are icons in American Filmology - rating all the way up there with the likes of Casablanca, and Star Wars.

Why ruin a good thing? Let those series (Rambo and Rocky) stand in all their glory as they are, and dont ruin them with additional awful sequels.

Resurrecting Rambo at age 60 and using steroids to look the part is just pathetic.

There is no fool like an old fool….

And this is important because…..???????????????????

Who cares what an aging thespian decides to inject. This country has lost it’s mind.

Congress has important issues to address, not trivial pandering about what substances athletes and private citizens choose to consume.

Doctors and medical researchers have said repeatedly that steroids pose little harm and should remain legal. Politicians think they know better than the experts who study these substances.

If we could use expert opinions instead of those of politicians we would have a better society.

Face it, the only reason why congress is spending so much time investigating the steroid & HGH issue is because this is the only issue they can actually do something about!

Who cares about Stallone, one fry short of a Happy Meal?

He sounds like an idiot. But he did do good in “Copland” where he played…. an idiot!

He will appeal to other idiots, and God bless them all.

We live in a world full of vitamins, botox, diet fads…take your pick. Who doesn’t want to be in shape, look and feel good. Take whatever you want to get there. As long as you know that facts and risks. Government has no place in this discussion unless these substances are proven life threatening.

He’s gone from “First Blood” to “Tainted Blood.” Kind of sad to see.

To mess with your body in that way is a risk that might make sense when you can make millions from a movie, and when you have the money to get the best medical supervision now and later on when the ramifications start to hit you. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense for the average person.

Apparently, Congress has solved all other problems for America. Who knew?

I think that we are living with a government that has become more of a mean and dictatorial NANNY than a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Our government has become and is NOW a government of itself, by itself and for itself. It is a self-perpetuating organism that lives only to propegate itself into every, and I do mean every, aspect of our lives.

Our government is in our very bedrooms, our homes and in our bodies, telling us what we can or cannot do with our most intimate thoughts and actions. It tells us when, where and how we can live and under what conditions we must die.

I firmly believe that the way things are now is not what the Founding Fathers wanted for us. They are probably turning over in their graves.

As many others have stated here, there is so much else wrong with our society, our culture and our government, why is this even an issue? There are way more important things to do.

Also, who cares if Sly Stallone, or anyone else for that matter, use any drug under a doctor’s supervision? Apparently, that was a private medical decision made between Sly and his doctor and should not be subject to our interpretation of it, more or less subject to government scrutiny.

Stallone is an icon in the italian community why is everyone bashing him ? A congressional issue ??? Come on !!! Arnold, Bonds, Hogan, The Rock , Half of Baseball and most of football players ???? Do roids and its a congressional issue if your successful…what about Joe the wig at the local gym ???? Go bother him and make it an issue. Nobody cares anymore. Its all about the benjamins baby ! So what if Stallone has the body of a 20 year old and the face of a 60 year old, its his life…..a qoute from Rocky ” People do because they want to do…not becauase they have to…..I feel like a Kentucky Fried Idiot…” I think all of Rocky’s opponents were on roids to except for the Russian.They just grow them large over there.

Well put Mr. Myles. I can smoke as much as I want and drive drunk after leaving a bar when both of which have serious consequences not just to me, more importantly to other people. Meanwhile I have to pay through the nose for medical insurance because of all those who smoke, drink excessively or need a pescription to get through life. Do I get a break for staying healthy…no. Healthy doesn’t pay enough. The bottome line everyone is quick to point out someone else doing wrong and never look at themselves or how it affects others.

Women have used hormone replacement therapy to deal with the physical side effects of aging, what’s the difference if this is done with the assistance of a good doctor?

January 31st, 2008 6:23 pm ET

If Stallone is encouraging youngsters to try HGH, it’s not their drug use I’m worried about, it’s their utter cluelessness about biochemistry…

If you have adequate levels of HGH, all research seems to indicate that taking more will not help you to any great extent. It’s during middle age when your HGH starts to drop that you gain benefits from using it. Obviously if it’s available by prescription, there ARE valid reasons for using it.
^^^^

Not to be a troll, but the very fact that it’s being used AND is so effective is the whole POINT of the debate.

By your logic the ones who gain any advantage by using it are either middle aged, or didnt have adequate levels to begin with and therefor have a “valid” reason for using it, so now the debate is moot because of your rational?

Clemens used it and it worked because he either didnt have enuff to begin with or he’s a washed up hasbeen geezer who needed it. Ill buy that for a dollar.;P

Thats funny .

Loh

Stallone is aging, like everyone else. Too bad he can’t do it gracefully. Whatever the verdict on steriod and HGH use, it’s still pathetic the lengths that people will go to in order to “pretend” they’re younger. No one is ever fooled anyway. Accept it, Stallone, you’re becoming an old man. You had your day. It’s time to grow up.

I do NOT understand what all the commotion is about? I have always loved all the Rambo and Rocky movies. Saying things about Rocky vs Rambo, is just childish, and rings a bit of ENVY. He has spent the last 40 some odd years entertaining and giving us an escape. He gave a voice to a lot of people in the Rambo movies, things I could never even imagine.
I agree totally that there is a difference between someone competing in a race using an enhancer, as opposed to just getting ready for a movie, or as you get old, if something works, why not, if it does not harm you. I think a lot of people would be singing a different tune, had they reached the age where options are just what they are, an option. An option to have a better quality of life.
I think the remarks about his age, are just flat out ugly! Is he supposed to stay young forever? No, but he is still entertaining us, if you don’t like the movies, don’t go. I went and enjoyed Rambo, it was very graphic, but it brought up alot of memories, from when I was in the movie theater 20 years ago and Rambo First Blood came out.
Thank you, Sly!

I agree- congress is a joke. Wasting time on steroids instead of something important like healthcare. I wish we could get rid of these clowns and start over.

Seems to me the article did what the author wanted, It got all these people to put in comments. This means that people are reading the stuff that cnn puts out as news.