What are the issues involving drugs and sports?
- The use of drugs to improve sporting performance has not only caused unhealthy side effects but also deaths in athletes over the years.
- In 1967, the International Olympic Committee agreed to ban or restrict the use of certain substances or methods that can enhance the performance of athletes.
- Athletes who continue to use illegal drugs or methods risk being banned from competing in their sports if discovered through drug testing. They may also suffer from the short and long term effects of the drugs.
What do we mean by a drug?
A drug is a substance (other than food) that when taken, produces a change in the body. If this change helps the body, the drug is referred to as medicine. If the change harms the body, the drug is referred to as a poison.
What is doping?
It is the use of banned substances or methods by athletes that may enhance their performance.
Inadvertent or unintentional doping occurs when an athlete takes a medicine to treat an illness without realising that it contains a prohibited substance.
Athletes are subject to anti-doping policies and are responsible for checking the status of all substances and medicines they consume.
Why are some substances and methods banned?
Reasons for banning involve a few issues :
- Health – many substances can cause serious effects on health if not used properly.
- Ethics – In certain circumstances banned substances and methods enhance performance of athletes above their natural level.
- Legal – some drugs are illegal and therefore, are prohibited in sports.
What is the policy on sports doping in Malaysia?
Strategies employed are aimed at :
- Prevention.
- Eradication:
- Of existing wrong practices and abuse.
- Of habits and attitudes which has inclination to doping.
- Monitoring :
- Out-of-competition testing programme.
- Of training and performance parameters.
Caution
Since there is a long list of drugs that can affect performance, athletes should consult their doctors, the local sports authority or Doping Centre before they take any medicine before any National or International sporting event. A comprehensive list of banned substances can be found in the 2005 Prohibited List International Standard at www.wada-ama.org .
Prohibited substances and methods
All of the following substances and doping methods are prohibited. Using it is cheating.
Type and Description | Side-Effects |
---|---|
Anabolic agents
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Beta-2-agonists
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Agents with anti-estrogenic activity
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Diuretics and other masking agents
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Peptide and glycoprotein hormones and analogues
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Stimulants
|
Types of prohibition : In and out of competition |
Narcotic analgesics
|
Types of prohibition : In competition |
Prohibited methods
- Enhancement of oxygen transfer.
- Blood doping and the usage of products that artificially enhance the uptake, transport or delivery of oxygen.
- Chemical and physical manipulation.
- Tampering, or attempting to tamper by using substances or methods which alter the characteristics of samples collected for doping tests.
- Gene doping.
- The use of genes and / or cells with the purpose of enhancing performance.
Last reviewed | : | 20 April 2012 |
Writer | : | Dr. Nour Hanah bt. Othman |
Reviewer | : | Nur Azibahwati bt. Aziz |