Two chemicals which can be used as date-rape drugs and are increasingly popular in the gay club scene are to be banned under proposals announced by the Government today.

Ministers also said that they are to control 26 anabolic steroids and growth promoters amid mounting concern at the number of young men who are using them to improve their physical appearance.

The steroids, already banned by sporting authorities, will become Class C drugs.

Vernon Coaker, a junior Home Office minister, said that the Government is to consult on controls on the chemicals GBL — gamma butyrolactone — and 1,4-BD which when absorbed by the body rapidly convert to the drug GHB which has been linked to sexual assaults.

Scientific advisors to the Home Office gave warning 15 months ago that the chemicals may be contributing to a “significant problem” of drug-related rape.

Under the Home Office plans the two chemicals, currently legal, would become Class C drugs punishable by up to two years in jail for possession and 14 years for dealing.

A Home Office spokesman said: “When ingested rapidly, they convert to GHB, which is a Class C drug and has been cited in cases of date rape.

“The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs found they were increasingly being used as a legal substitute for GHB, particularly as a ‘club drug', and can lead to dependence if used regularly, unconsciousness and even death by intoxication.”

A 250ml bottle of 99.9 per cent GBL can be bought for £20 which equates to about 8p per 1ml recreational dose.

When GBL and 1,4-BD is ingested it can cause an increased sex drive, euphoria, suggestibility, passivity and amnesia - leaving victims vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity.

A study of patients reporting to the Accident and Emergency department at St Thomas' Hospital in South London in 2006 found significant numbers of people arriving for treatment after taking GBL and GHB in gay clubs in nearby Vauxhall.

The chemical industry will be asked for its views on controlling GBL and 1,4-BD, which are widely available as cleaning fluids and industrial solvents.

Earlier this year a seven-year-old girl from South London nearly died after eating toy beads coated with 1,4-BD, which caused her to suffer breathing problems and lose consciousness.

The Home Office also announced plans to control 26 anabolic steroids and growth-promoting drugs, in addition to nearly 60 which are already illegal.

The substances are banned by sports authorities but are not currently listed as controlled drugs.

Mr Coaker said: “Some people, in particular those who aspire to Olympic success, may think that anabolic steroids can enhance their performance but they can in fact have serious health consequences.

“This move will ensure that our controls, aimed at illicit suppliers, are up to date.”

The initiative follows concern by the Government on the increasing use by youngsters of anabolic steroids and growth promoting drugs.

Lord Adebowale, a member of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, said last November: “These are being used not just by athletes but by people who want to be in boy bands and get girls."

The advisory council gave warning of the long-term effects of the drugs which can lead to sterility, acne, liver tumours and the growth of breasts in boys.

“It can also make the testicles wither which is probably not what the users want," Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, the chairman of the committee, said at the November meeting.

The steroid craze has come out of the gym culture. Bodybuilders, athletes and some gay clubbers have used anabolic steroids for some time. But the new users range from professionals and students to building-site workers.

Figures from the 2006-07 British Crime Survey estimate that 32,000 people used steroids in the previous year and 14,000 in the previous month. A separate Department of Health survey also indicated a steady increase in the use of anabolic steroids by young people between 2001-2006.

The two growth promoters which ministers plan to ban are Zeranol and Zilpaterol.

The anabolic steroids are: 1-Androstendiol, 1-Androstendione, Boldione, Gestrinone, Danazol, Desoexoymethyltestosterone, 19-Norandrostenedione, Prostanozol, Tetrahydrogestrinone, Dihydrotestosterone, 5alpha-Androstane-3alpha, 17alpha-diol, 5alpha-Androstane-3alpha, 17beta-diol, 5alpha-Androstane-3beta, 17alpha-diol, 5alpha-Androstane-3beta, 17beta-diol, Androst-4-ene-3beta, 17beta-diol ('Androstenediol'), Androst-4-ene-3alpha, 17alpha-diol, Androst-4-ene-3alpha, 17beta-diol, Androst-4-ene-3beta,17alpha-diol, 5-Androstenedione, Epidihydrotestosterone,3alpha-Hydroxy-5alpha-androstan-17-one, 3beta -Hydroxy-5alpha-androstan-17-one 19-Norandrosterone, 19-Noretiocholanolone.

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