ADF Position on Drugs in sport

Summary

• The Australian Drug Foundation is concerned about the health effects of sports-related drug use.
• The attitude of 'win at all costs' is dangerous. Personal and national glory is not worth the health of our young athletes.
• Effective drug education is needed to prevent and minimise the harm of sport-related drug use.
• More research into the prevalence of the use of drugs in sport and the causes is required.
• The use of drugs at all levels of competition needs to be addressed.

Adopted by the ADF Board August 2001

The Question: Why is the use of drugs in sport a concern?

Background

With Australia's continued success in most aspects of international sport, the issue of drugs in sport, and the efforts to detect those using banned substances, has become a familiar topic.

The main force behind the efforts to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) is the aim of creating a 'level playing field' and preventing athletes from having an unfair advantage over their competitors. However, it is the major health problems associated with sport-related drug use that primarily concerns the Australian Drug Foundation. Young athletes risk long-term health problems and even death by using drugs to improve their performance.

Athletes are under immense pressure to win. An Australian Sports Drug Agency survey (1) of over 800 elite Australian athletes found that 43% of participants felt pressured due to their own expectations, while 49% of surveyed athletes reported feeling pressure to use drugs due to the financial rewards associated with their sports performance. Athletes in events like the Olympic games face huge pressure to help their country to win medals, and this pressure is magnified when representing the host country.

In addition to the use of drug testing as a deterrent, the role that education can and should play in preventing and minimising the harm of this drug use must be recognised. Currently most education efforts focus on ensuring the athletes know which substances are banned.

Most efforts to reduce sports-related drug use impact only on those athletes competing at elite levels. There is growing concern that young people are using drugs at lower levels of competition and for reasons other than to gain competitive edge. These include cosmetic reasons, e.g. bodybuilding or weight loss, and occupational reasons, e.g. security staff. However, more research is needed to understand the nature and extent of this drug use. There is also concern that the focus on sport and achievement created by the Olympics will increase this type of drug use. There is anecdotal evidence from Atlanta (2) that after the 1996 Olympics the use of methamphetamine and steroid use increased.

Conclusion

The main problem of drug use in sport is not that someone may win a gold medal unfairly, but that athletes are putting their health and lives at risk. Public pressure on athletes to succeed is a major contributing factor.

Some common arguments and responses

1. Once athletes know the risks, won't that stop them from using drugs?

Not necessarily. A study by the Australian Sports Drug Agency (3) found that when considering drugs in sport, athletes were more concerned with the effects on performance rather than any potential health consequences. This reflects the pressures that athletes face to 'win at all costs'.

2. What should be involved in sports drug education?

Sports drug education should be complementary to other forms of drug education and be based on the same theoretical principles. Coaches, teachers and parents involved with delivering this education should be supported and resourced to do so effectively.

3.Can a harm minimisation approach be used to address the problem of drugs in sport?

When the drug use is for non-competitive reasons, the main person being affected is the user. The main concern then should be minimising the harm that person is exposed to. A harm minimisation approach to drug education with this target group will aim to deter or delay initiation of use of these drugs, but in instances where drugs are used it provides information and strategies for minimising the harm that might occur.

References

(1) Canning, C. (1996) Drugs in Sport ' towards 2000. Drugs in Society 3/96: 2-5.

(2) Linnell, G. (2000) The real drug crisis is yet to surface. The Age. Friday Sept 29, Olympics Supplement, p.4.

(3) Nicholsons. N., Wynd, T., & Cohen, P. (1993) Drugs in Sport: Performance before health. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 3(3): 20-22.

Date: 2001-08-15