The never-ending controversy around sports enhancement drugs will never fade, as an increasing number of athletes are admitting their use; global sports authorities like the International Olympic comity (IOC), he World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other international sports federations continue to consider drug intake as cheating and impose punishments on athletes who use it.
However, some would argue that drugs are beneficial for sports, as athletes who do not use drugs turn to other types of medications such as ephedrine and psychedelics that can be harmful physiologically, psychologically and may lead to different percentages of biological anomalies compared to athletes who are caught doping. Driven by the thirst to win, unfortunately, athletes turn to drugs. Some athletes try to dive into a state where their natural abilities. Many would argue that providing athletes with a fair ground could reduce the intake of drugs.
Some would however argue to permit usage anabolic steroids for the sake of athlete’s safety and for the sheer interest in witnessing a new level of sport. II. Idea N. 1 A) Why drugs in sport are banned Athletes around the world that play at a professional level should set an example for the rest of society; the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) attempts to minimize the potential usage of athletic enhancement drugs. The side effects of drugs have shed light to the harmful effects of steroids and thus banned them.
Most athletes tend to overdose on drugs, and instead of breaking records; they end up in the emergency room or dead due to. Heart failure or over stimulating their cardiac muscle. III. Idea N. 2 B) The Positives to drug use in sport One athlete that has found a positive to using drugs in sport has shown the world what it means to create a legacy; Lance Armstrong has won the Tour De France on two different occasions, Tour de Luxemburg and Tour DuPont (twice). He has recently testified to doping in some of his cycling events.
While many would frown upon hearing this, others would applaud his records and achievements. That he’s had over such a long and illustrious career, one could argue that he is the best at what he does, doping or not he has set the bar very high for cycling on a global scale. Some medical scientists have in-depth researched about how some human growth hormones can enhance injury recovery in the process of rehabilitation. IV. Idea N. 3 C) When can sport enhancement drugs be used?
Lately, the public is associating drugs with dietary supplements; supplements can be defined as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, among other substances that are essential for the daily diet. Whereas steroids, Growth Hormone, IGF1 and other hormonal elements are not considered “dietary supplements. ” Make sure u define these and compare well. When athletes aim is to perform passed their highest level, to impress either their coaches or scouts which tend to recruit them to the professional league. We need to focus on when athletes are allowed to use drugs for example rehab injuries.
Drugs in Sport The never-ending controversy around sports enhancement drugs will never fade due to the existence of those who believe sports enhancement drugs are tolerable as opposed to the majority that believe in a law that forbids usage. As an increasing number of athletes are admitting their use; global sports authorities like the International Olympic committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other international sports federations continue to consider drug intake as cheating and impose punishments on athletes who use it.
However, some would argue that drugs are beneficial for sports. Athletes who do not use drugs, turn to other types of medications such as ephedrine and psychedelics that can be harmful physiologically, psychologically and physically, or may lead to different percentages of biological anomalies compared to athletes who are caught doping. Driven by the thirst to win, unfortunately, athletes turn to drugs. Some athletes attempt to dive into a state where their natural abilities are surpassed with the aid of these drugs.
Some Believe that drugs can change sports by allowing them to train past their peak of performance, by allowing the use of drugs amongst all athletes this somehow levels the playing field, drugs in sport, they are harmful to athletes’ health, their use should not be permitted as they may be of great health risk or may result in death. Athletes around the world that play at a professional level should set an example for the rest of society; the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) attempts to minimize the potential usage of athletic enhancement drugs.
The side effects of drugs have shed light to the harmful effects of steroids and thus banned them. Most athletes tend to overdose on drugs, and instead of breaking records; they end up in the emergency room or dead due to heart failure or over stimulating their cardiac muscle. Gymnastics has faced the side effects of these drugs as female gymnasts started to develop arthritis alongside other joint problems at earlier stages in life (Boyles, 2004).
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have also been the cause behind the damage of the spinal cord horn that is responsible for tissue repair and growth. Leaning towards a sociological view, athlete intake increased post-war and more towards the 1960s, the question would not be how much drugs athletes are taking but rather why they took them to begin with (Routledge, 2009). The thirst for competition surrounding political or racial or even self driven goals are to be taken into account upon thinking how these drugs were introduced into sports.
On another note, one athlete that has found a benefit to using drugs in sport and has shown the world what it means to create a legacy; Lance Armstrong has won the Tour De France on two different occasions, Tour de Luxemburg and Tour DuPont (twice). He has recently testified to doping in some of his cycling events. At first, most would think negatively of his actions disregarding what he has managed to do for cycling as a sport, others would applaud his records and achievements, which he has had over such a long and illustrious career.
One could argue that he is the best at what he does; doping or not he has set the bar very high for cycling on a global scale. Managing to overcome stage three testicular cancer which had also spread to his lungs and abdomen, he willed himself to show the world that anything is possible while inspiring millions in the process. Although he admitted to doping, this was nothing compared to the positive impact he had on fans all around the world.
The use of performance enhancing drugs should not be permitted to any athlete in order to achieve a level playing field on a global scale and in all sports played professionally like in the NBA (National Basketball Association) MLB (Major League Baseball) or the NFL (National Football League) and at an Olympic level. Instead, we need to focus on the circumstances upon which athletes are allowed to use drugs. For example, the rehabilitation after an injury can take up long periods of time, there are recovery periods ranging from 3 months up to a year depending on the injury.
Utilizing these drugs where it is necessary to help speed up the recovery process. Thus, allowing athletes to return to their respective sports in peak condition and in almost half the time, many athletes turn to painkillers and cortisone to keep themselves operating without knowledge of how this affects their health as mainly athletes look for short term solutions rather than long term solutions with the mindset that ‘The time is now and whatever happens later in life is manageable’.
Thus, giving rise for the need to keep all athletes aware of the consequences, it is better to address the injury or the implication from its first signs rather than suppress it with these drugs and suffer a harsh retirement after their sporting careers are over. Moreover, in some states athletes are prevented from ingesting anything that may affect their athletic performance such as caffeine, “Pre Workout” and or Whey Protein supplements that are sold on the commercial consumer marker.
It is believed these supplements contain a percentage of growth hormone, hence athletes are only allowed to ingest the whey that their university provides. The same company distributes to all universities; this whey is also known as “Muscle Milk” it is pure whey extracted from milk that contains no additives. In doing so universities all around the country hope to level the playing field as college football scouts are their gateway to the professional world of the NFL (National Football League).
Long distance athletes around the world, whether swimmers, runners, cyclists are driven by a fierce competitive nature to win, they most are reluctant to believe the effects of a drug by the name of Erythropoietin will increase their physical capabilities, this drug is originally meant to treat anemic patients that have kidney disease. This drug stimulates bone marrow to increase the production of red blood cells and hemoglobin, as a result of this increase of red blood cells during exercise the amount of oxygen entering the body to the muscles increases (Mayo Clinic2015) , in turn this decreases the rate of fatigue and lactic acid build up.
However athletes are unaware that the health risks of taking this drug far outweigh the benefits. In the 1990s this drug contributed to at least 18 deaths due to its increased risk of strokes and heart attacks (Mayo Clinic, 2015) Lately, the public is associating drugs with dietary supplements; supplements can be defined as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, among other substances that are essential for the daily diet. Whereas steroids, Growth Hormone, Insulin-Growth factor 1 and other hormonal elements are not considered “dietary supplements”(Cusimano, 2015).
Steroids are known to be a major cause in heart failure by weakening the ventricular chamber that pumps the blood, it is shown in a study done by Aaron L. Baggish of Harvard Medical school and his colleagues that the ventricular chamber in subjects that took steroids pump less than 55% of the blood that enters comparative to the normal range of 55%-70% (S. Boyles, 2004) and the problem is that they are not just used by professional athletes today, they are used by regular people who work nine-five jobs, the best course of action would be to keep all gym users aware of the effects of steroids.
If the dosage is not used properly, it can affect the physiological and hormonal levels of the user and induce a term used very frequently when mentioning steroids; “roid rage” this phrase points to the problem of aggressive tendencies when using steroids, essentially the mood swings that men and women experience can be compared to that of the side effects of certain drugs or may also be compared to what most women face on a monthly basis “The premenstrual cycle.
As a result of testing positive for a drug called meldonium, a drug that does not increase athletes’ performance but rather it can help prevent tissue damage in areas where blood flow is not sufficient (Birzniece, 2015) it is newly banned by the anti doping federation, The five time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova received a 2 year suspension from the tennis court but as a result of her announcing it was unintentional and she was not aware of this as it was prescribed as “Heart medication” the suspension was rendered too harsh and decrease to a year.
This shows how to some degree the federation can be lenient in terms of situations where athletes are not aware of their usage, this further points to the importance of athlete awareness on drug usage. Finally, the use of drugs in sports to cheat is nothing new to society, but it would not be considered cheating if drugs were permissible. The WADA has declared that a drug is illegal if it is performance enhancing, if it is a health risk or if it violates the “Spirit of the sport.
This gives rise to sports involving not only humans, but also animals. Taking into example horses, they are lined up and trained potential, their ability to win depends on their biological features and the rider’s ability to transport this potential into a win (Clayton 2004). As humans, we have no rider but we can exercise our intelligence. How then can we say drugs are bad if they allow us to exceed our natural potential to accomplish greater feats?
Permitting the use of performance enhancing drugs should only allow one limitation, safety. Many athletes are born with biological advantages that give them an upper hand in the sports they play, for example Ian Thorpe has some of the biggest feet, that give him an advantage in the sport of swimming. No athlete can train for this biological trait he or she is just born with it, permitting sports enhancement drugs would certainly level the playing field but only within the doses that would be considered “Safe”.
It would be best to “test for health not drugs” (Clayton, 2004). In conclusion, the controversy around this topic will never end, there will always be two sides to the coin. Whether they can be a major health risk or a gate to greatness. We should focus on raising awareness that these steroids are not to be used without proper assistance from a medical practitioner or with the consent of a medical doctor, all athletes should be aware of the implications of steroid use whether are long term or short term.
Instead let’s put these drugs to better use and help athletes recover from their injuries, not only athletes but maybe also help elders who might not exercise regularly, be able to. I believe these drugs should not be allowed, as I believe in the idea of “What separates athletes is hard work, hard work beats natural born talent. ”
