Sportsmen have used anabolic steroids since the 1950s and yet it was not until the 1980s that we, as physicians, admitted that they could improve performance. We now find ourselves in the invidious position of being unable to predict convincingly either safety or major health risks with performance-enhancing drug use.The use of performance-enhancing drugs is no longer limited to the elite athlete. In 1993 the Canadian Center for Drug-free Sport estimated that 83 000 children between the ages of 11 and 18 had used anabolic steroids in the previous 12 months. Recent evidence suggests anabolic steroids are now the third most commonly offered drugs to children in the UK, behind cannabis and amphetamines.The role of the physician of today is to regain our position of impartiality and objectivity within both the sporting and general community. Only then will we be able to pursue a harm minimisation strategy designed to convince the public that it is better to be the best you can be naturally.For the majority, the improvement through the use of performance-enhancing drugs can equally be achieved through dietary and training advice. For the elite athlete, what price a gold medal that is tarnished by deceit? Its value then can only lie with the sponsors and politicians, for they can no longer claim to be sportsmen, only entertainers.
Journal of Endocrinology (2001) 170, 55-61
Drugs in sport -the role of the physicianLife is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experiment dangerous, judgement difficult. Not only must the physician show himself prepared to do what is necessary; he must also secure the co-operation of the patient, the attendants, and of external circumstances.Hippocrates, Aphorisms I.1 (IV.485L)Little has changed for the physician over the centuries. Our role remains to do what is necessary for the benefit of our patients. At times this can lead to an ethical dilemma as we struggle with behaviour we believe to be morally wrong and yet we must put the health and well-being of our patient first. This dilemma is typified by the use of performanceenhancing drugs in sport and of anabolic steroids in particular. As we struggle to control a problem that has become endemic in sport, are current drug policies providing no more than Pyrrhic victories as we alienate those we have sworn to protect, our patients?The use of drugs in sport is not new but few drugs have fuelled the public's imagination as anabolic steroids have. With an onset of use in sport by the Russians in the 1950s (Wade 1972) it was not until the 1980s that the medical profession finally accepted their efficacy as performance-enhancing drugs. This has caused many athletes to doubt our impartiality and knowledge of performance-enhancing drugs. Ultimately, this has led to an increasing reliance, by many, on locker-room anecdotes rather than turning to their physician for a trusted medical opinion.
Prohibition -a flawed strategy in a climate of rewardThe sporting authorities have adopted a policy of prohibition for performance-enhancing dru...