spiderlake
12-16-2005, 07:34 AM
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=a5lYEbu6Cdc8&refer=uk
Drugs Should Be Permitted in Sport, Professors Say (Update1)
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Professional athletes should be allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision, three professors wrote in U.K. medical journal The Lancet.
Legalizing drugs such as steroids would allow research into cheating methods without risking the health of athletes or reducing their lifespan, Bengt Kayser, Alexandre Mauron and Andy Miah said. It would also steer amateurs away from potentially harmful practices, they wrote.
``Legalization of doping, we believe, would encourage more sensible, informed use of drugs in amateur sport, leading to an overall decline in the rate of health problems associated with doping,'' they said in the Dec. 17 edition.
The issue of drugs in sport resurfaced three days ago when U.S. sprinter Tim Montgomery, the former world record-holder in the 100 meters, was banned two years for steroid use. He's since retired, Reuters reported. Argentina tennis pro Guillermo Canas, then ranked 10th, was given the same punishment in August when he tested positive for a banned diuretic, while there were a record 26 doping cases at last year's Athens Olympics.
By allowing medically supervised doping, ``the drugs could be assessed for a clearer view of what is dangerous and what is not,'' the authors said. Playing sports is harmful even if no drugs are taken -- soccer comes with high risks of knee and ankle problems, and boxers can suffer from brain damage -- they added.
Flo-Jo
Florence Griffith-Joyner's death from an epileptic seizure at the age of 38 in 1998 fueled speculation that the three-time Olympic gold medalist took drugs to develop her muscular build, although the sprinter never failed a test and denied wrongdoing.
The career of 1998 Tour de France winner Marco Pantani slumped after 1999 when he was ejected from the Tour of Italy for having too high a red blood cell count, which can indicate drug use. He died from a cocaine overdose aged 34 in March 2004.
As many as 17 cyclists died by 2000 because of use of erythropoietin, or EPO, which increases the number of oxygen- carrying red blood cells, the Pharmaceutical Journal reported in February 2000.
Olympic cycling champion Tyler Hamilton was dropped by Phonak a year ago after tests showed he'd had blood transfusions, while Roberto Heras, the record four-time Tour of Spain winner, may be stripped of this year's title after testing positive for EPO on the second-to-last stage of the race on Sept. 17.
Contradiction
A contradiction exists because performance-enhancing drugs aren't allowed, yet an athlete can get help by being blessed with a performance-enhancing genetic predisposition, the article said.
The 182-year-old Lancet is the world's oldest medical journal and publishes clinical trials, research and analysis for physicians and scientists worldwide.
Anti-doping policies in sport are ``unfounded, dangerous and excessively costly,'' said Kayser, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Geneva.
Governing body U.K. Sport opposed the idea, pointing to a survey that showed 90 percent of British athletes at the Athens games didn't want peers found guilty of a doping offense to compete in future Olympics.
U.K. Sport ``is committed to promoting ethically fair and drug-free sport, with the aim of producing sportsmen and women who are competing and winning fairly,'' U.K. Sport said in an e- mailed statement. ``The use of performance-enhancing drugs undermines the integrity of all involved in sport.''
Lincoln Allison, a U.K.-based author whose books include Amateurism in Sport and the Global Politics of Sport, backed the professors by calling for openness in drug use.
``If they're going to do it, they should do it up front,'' Allison said in a phone interview. ``I don't know how it would benefit the sports involved. But the sports I think I'd want my grandkids to play wouldn't be affected.''
Mauron is a professor of bioethics at the University of Geneva, while Miah is a lecturer in media, bioethics and cyberculture at the University of Paisley in Scotland.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ravi Ubha in London at at rubha@bloomberg.net.
Drugs Should Be Permitted in Sport, Professors Say (Update1)
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Professional athletes should be allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision, three professors wrote in U.K. medical journal The Lancet.
Legalizing drugs such as steroids would allow research into cheating methods without risking the health of athletes or reducing their lifespan, Bengt Kayser, Alexandre Mauron and Andy Miah said. It would also steer amateurs away from potentially harmful practices, they wrote.
``Legalization of doping, we believe, would encourage more sensible, informed use of drugs in amateur sport, leading to an overall decline in the rate of health problems associated with doping,'' they said in the Dec. 17 edition.
The issue of drugs in sport resurfaced three days ago when U.S. sprinter Tim Montgomery, the former world record-holder in the 100 meters, was banned two years for steroid use. He's since retired, Reuters reported. Argentina tennis pro Guillermo Canas, then ranked 10th, was given the same punishment in August when he tested positive for a banned diuretic, while there were a record 26 doping cases at last year's Athens Olympics.
By allowing medically supervised doping, ``the drugs could be assessed for a clearer view of what is dangerous and what is not,'' the authors said. Playing sports is harmful even if no drugs are taken -- soccer comes with high risks of knee and ankle problems, and boxers can suffer from brain damage -- they added.
Flo-Jo
Florence Griffith-Joyner's death from an epileptic seizure at the age of 38 in 1998 fueled speculation that the three-time Olympic gold medalist took drugs to develop her muscular build, although the sprinter never failed a test and denied wrongdoing.
The career of 1998 Tour de France winner Marco Pantani slumped after 1999 when he was ejected from the Tour of Italy for having too high a red blood cell count, which can indicate drug use. He died from a cocaine overdose aged 34 in March 2004.
As many as 17 cyclists died by 2000 because of use of erythropoietin, or EPO, which increases the number of oxygen- carrying red blood cells, the Pharmaceutical Journal reported in February 2000.
Olympic cycling champion Tyler Hamilton was dropped by Phonak a year ago after tests showed he'd had blood transfusions, while Roberto Heras, the record four-time Tour of Spain winner, may be stripped of this year's title after testing positive for EPO on the second-to-last stage of the race on Sept. 17.
Contradiction
A contradiction exists because performance-enhancing drugs aren't allowed, yet an athlete can get help by being blessed with a performance-enhancing genetic predisposition, the article said.
The 182-year-old Lancet is the world's oldest medical journal and publishes clinical trials, research and analysis for physicians and scientists worldwide.
Anti-doping policies in sport are ``unfounded, dangerous and excessively costly,'' said Kayser, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Geneva.
Governing body U.K. Sport opposed the idea, pointing to a survey that showed 90 percent of British athletes at the Athens games didn't want peers found guilty of a doping offense to compete in future Olympics.
U.K. Sport ``is committed to promoting ethically fair and drug-free sport, with the aim of producing sportsmen and women who are competing and winning fairly,'' U.K. Sport said in an e- mailed statement. ``The use of performance-enhancing drugs undermines the integrity of all involved in sport.''
Lincoln Allison, a U.K.-based author whose books include Amateurism in Sport and the Global Politics of Sport, backed the professors by calling for openness in drug use.
``If they're going to do it, they should do it up front,'' Allison said in a phone interview. ``I don't know how it would benefit the sports involved. But the sports I think I'd want my grandkids to play wouldn't be affected.''
Mauron is a professor of bioethics at the University of Geneva, while Miah is a lecturer in media, bioethics and cyberculture at the University of Paisley in Scotland.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ravi Ubha in London at at rubha@bloomberg.net.