Doping: Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports - Research Paper Example

 Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Introduction A sport is a very challenging and painstaking element of the society. Heavy demands are placed on the shoulders of sports players in every sport. The player representing a nation is expected to give his best so he can make his team and his nation stand out against rest of the nations. This burden has driven sports players to participate in activities such as doping and consuming performance enhancing drugs in order to enhance their performance and meet the demands of their fans. Doping is a term used to define sport player’s activity of consuming drugs that enhance their performance. The consumption of these drugs has long been banned by organizations related to sporting activity. Several ways of testing players for usage of these drugs are in place. Still sports committees, boards, policy makers and independent organizations have failed to counter the issue of doping. The demand for such drugs continue to rise which have led to an increase in the development of such drugs and developers have started manufacturing such sophisticated performance enhancement drugs which are very hard to identify through testing procedures. This has given heat to the question whether drugs that enhance performance should be legalized or not. This paper will focus on the history, negative and positive effects, types and preventive measures of drugs consumed for enhancing performance. Body History Dope is a term used to describe an athlete’s behavior of consuming drugs that enhance their performance, this term was first applied to the sporting field during the period of 20th century when horses in a race were drugged (Rosen, 2008, p.10). The usage of such drugs has existed during the Greek era when a stimulant named strychnine was used to enhance the fighting ability of a gladiator (Mozayani, 2012, p.626). Similarly, the use of Coca plants was conducted by the Incas to elevate the level of their soldier’s attention and to stimulate their stamina (McCloskey, 2005, p.81). Similar activities were witnessed during the Egyptian era as they used hooves and the initial Olympians were even held responsible for consuming testicles of sheep to enhance their performance (Stewart, 1998, p.8). In the industry of sports, the use of anabolic steroids is common for the enhancement of performance. These steroids came into existence during 1889 and were scientifically created in the region of Paris. It was first used by Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard, he reported that he had consumed a mixture of blood, sperm and testicle juice of dogs and he stated that this consumption led to the enhancement of his physical and cognitive being (Mozayani, 2012, p.608). Following the findings of Sequard, several similar kinds of drugs started producing in the regions of Europe and US for dealing with different forms of sicknesses. Application In the sporting industry, different methods to enhance performance through drugs are being applied by different sports players; one such method is regarded as blood doping. The most popular forms of doping are the anabolic steroids which help in enhancing the muscular power of athletes. Similarly, stimulants are used by athletes to stimulate their cognitive power and to control tiredness. According to a research conducted during the period of 1996, a study was conducted which asserted that if males consume steroids for a period of ten weeks they gain over 13 pounds of muscles and can enhance their ability to conduct bench presses (McCloskey, 2005, p.67). Effectiveness of steroids can be determined through the facts that during the Olympic Games that took place during the era of 1984, a total of 70 physicians had prescribed 20 players who won at the games to obtain steroids (McCloskey, 2005, p.38). The effectiveness can further be determined through the fact that National Institute of Drug Abuse figured out that school level athletes even use anabolic steroids and there are approximately one million abusers (McCloskey, 2005, p.8). Another reason due to which there has been an increase in those who abuse anabolic steroids is that teenagers and adolescence are impressed by high performing players and they believe that by consuming steroids they can enhance their sporting performance at student level (McCloskey, 2005, p.55). Negative Impacts According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse there are several side effects of miss use of anabolic steroids and these negative effects have impacted both the male and the female gender in a negative manner (McCloskey, 2005, p.15). In the case of males, abuse of these steroids lead to cancers related to liver and elevation of pressure of blood, increase if cholesterol level (Mozayani, 2012, p.321). Certain other side effects of misusing of anabolic side effects have been gender based, these include: shrinkage of male testicles, decrease in counting of sperms, inability to produce children, enlargement of male breast, fall of hair and higher chances of experiencing enlargement of the prostrate (Stewart, 1998, p.12). In the case of female gender, the side effects include: changes in physical structure that may be personally and socially undesirable. These include: increase in facial hair, abnormalities of the menstrual cycle, shallowness in voice and clitoris swelling (Rosen, 2008, p.105). Abuse of such drugs may even lead to psychological disorders such as increase in anger, aggression, and inconsistent mood changes, an individual may even become delusional. Anabolic drug abusers may even experience social issues as a result of changes in their physical being; they might lose social acceptability due to increase in body fat and hair loss. Those athletes who may be caught for abusing these drugs may lose their fan following and may impact brands which they are endorsing. Preventive Measures The use of performance enhancement drugs has spread a notion which is very negative for the society, such activities portray that performance is critical in sports and the image of sporting activities have been hampered. Creation of sophisticated drugs and weak measuring tools has been critical to the failure of measures taken to control the problem. Certain experts are of the view that prohibition of such drugs cannot counter the issue and the issue can be countered through rules and regulations. One way of deterring individuals from abusing drugs is drug testing, this method can be applied at the educational level and at the professional level (McCloskey, 2005, p.119). It is believed that the fear of testing positive will make abusers stop using these drugs. The problem is that the monetary costs involved in efforts made to test and deter individuals from abusing such drugs are quite high. Tests have failed to determine drug abuse as these drugs are consumed for various illnesses and secondly these drugs are designed in such a way that detection of these drugs is very complex. Parents of athletes are even against testing of drugs because they believe that their children will start keeping secrets from them and instead of openly confessing that they are using, they would secretly abuse such drugs. The policy makers need to invest more in producing testing methods that can accurately identify the drugs that these athletes are consuming. Conclusion Abusing drugs for the purpose of enhancing performance in sporting activities have been a part of the society since the Greek and the Egyptian era. The word doping made its existence in current society when Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard created such drugs and figured out that such drugs have enhanced his physical and cognitive capabilities. Usage of such drugs has been a part of athletes who play at the educational as well as the professional level. Several side effects that are physical, emotional and societal in nature have been identified. Several measures to counter these issues have been in place. The best method to stop athletes from abusing such drugs is testing, but testing is considered very expensive and has failed to curtail the issue because these tests have failed in identifying whether and individual uses such drugs or not. References McCloskey, J., & Bailes, J. E. (2005). When winning costs too much: Steroids, supplements, and scandal in today's sports. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Pub. Mozayani, A., Raymon, L. P., & SpringerLink (Online service). (2012). Handbook of drug interactions: A clinical and forensic guide. New York: Humana Press. Rosen, D. M. (2008). Dope: A history of performance enhancement in sports from the nineteenth century to today. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Stewart, G. B. (1998). Drugs and sports. San Diego, Calif: GreenHaven Press. Read More