An (un)desirable trade of harms? How elite athletes might react to medically supervised ‘doping’ and their considerations of side-effects in this situation

Abstract

Interpreting results with the understanding of sport as an exceptional and risky working environment suggests that legalising certain 'doping' substances under medical supervision would create other/new types of harms, and this 'trade-off of harms and benefits' would be undesirable considering the occupational health, working conditions and well-being of most athletes. Assessing the risks and harms produced/reduced by specific drugs when considering sport as a precarious occupation may prove useful in composing the Prohibited List and reducing drug-related harm in sport.

Winning at all costs: a review of risk-taking behaviour and sporting injury from an occupational safety and health perspective

“… Onyeaso and Adegbesan [ 48 ] 42 coaches of secondary school athletes 42 25 M 17 F Student-athletes Questionnaire Orofacial injuries ** Statistically significant association ( p < 0.05) was found between the sports and usage of mouthguards by the athletes as claimed by the coaches. Overbye [ 49 ] 775 elite athletes from 40 sports 775 465 M 310 F Elite Questionnaire Medicine use *** Interests in anabolic-androgenic steroids use: M > F ( p = 0.00); Speed and power sports athletes> motor-skill sport athletes (p = 0.02); Team sports athletes >motor-skill sport athlete ( p = 0.08); Endurance sport athletes > motor-skill sport athletes ( p = 0.15). Register-Mihalik [ 50 ] 167 high school athletes 167 97 M 55 F Student-athletes Questionnaire Concussion *** No association found between increased athlete knowledge and attitude and prevalence of playing while experiencing concussion symptoms ( p = 0.84).…”

El Dopaje Deportivo Como Cuestión Socialmente Viva: Una Revisión Bibliográfica

“…49 El apoyo a medidas disciplinarias fuertes para enfrentar el consumo de sustancias ilícitas, 50 la actitud de vergüenza como un importante elemento de disuasión entre atletas jóvenes 51,52 o la percepción del funcionamiento de las pruebas y procedimientos de control 53 son algunos ejemplos de la dificultad para emprender actuaciones integrales en la prevención del consumo de sustancias ilícitas en deportistas, 54 colocando en el centro de atención aquellas iniciativas que propugnan posiciones intermedias entre la legalización y la tolerancia cero. 55,56 Dentro de los estudios que señalan una actitud consciente del riesgo en deportistas, destaca la investigación de Hoff 57 sobre los comportamientos de un grupo de atletas de élite suecos, sancionados por usar esteroides androgénicos anabólicos. En esta misma dirección, se encuentra el trabajo de Mazanov, Huybers y Connor 58 en el cual se compara el enfoque "legalista" o sancionatorio, con el enfoque de "minimización de daños" o prioritario en salud, que evidencian algunos ciudadanos australianos frente al dopaje, concluyendo que el seguimiento de las reglas y los enfoques legalistas del consumo de drogas, tienen prioridad sobre los mensajes saludables en el grueso de la población.…”

Annual banned‐substance review: Analytical approaches in human sports drug testing

“…Drugs in sport and illicit means of performance enhancement have been referred to as one of sport's greatest challenges in consideration of the irrevocably damaging effects of repeated drug scandals on professional sport's reputation . The gravity of the situation was highlighted by discussions concerning the proposal to disregard athletics world records achieved prior to 2005, the reported prevalence of (undetected) anti‐doping rule violations (ADRVs), the continuously growing scientific efforts toward a multifaceted understanding of doping, (potential) underlying mechanisms and incentives, as well as possible options of enhancing doping self‐regulatory efficacy (whilst reducing moral disengagement in relation to doping) and counteracting developments fueling trends toward doping activities . The widespread use of dietary supplements at all levels of sport (despite the fact that supplementation may have limited value for some consumers) further complicates anti‐doping efforts due to the still prevailing issue of contamination and adulteration .…”

“…1 The gravity of the situation was highlighted by discussions concerning the proposal to disregard athletics world records achieved prior to 2005, 2 the reported prevalence of (undetected) anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs), [3][4][5] the continuously growing scientific efforts toward a multifaceted understanding of doping, 6,7 (potential) underlying mechanisms and incentives, [8][9][10] as well as possible options of enhancing doping self-regulatory efficacy (whilst reducing moral disengagement in relation to doping) 11 and counteracting developments fueling trends toward doping activities. [12][13][14] The widespread use of dietary supplements at all levels of sport 15,16 (despite the fact that supplementation may have limited value for some consumers) 17 further complicates anti-doping efforts due to the still prevailing issue of contamination and adulteration. 18,19 Differentiating the intentional use of a doping agent from an inadvertent application, for example through nutrition and/or dietary supplements or even prescription drugs, is a complex task.…”