Chapter 14
Substance Use:
Chemical Roulette
in Sport
By Mark H. Anshel
Overview
 How much of a problem is substance abuse in
sport? Why do athletes take these drugs?
 What types of ergogenic aids are used in sport
and exercise?
 What are the effects and consequences of
performance-enhancing drugs?
 Pros and cons of drug use in sport.
 Controlling drug use in sport.
Use of Ergogenic Aids in Sport
 In the context of sport, an ergogenic aid can be
broadly defined as a technique or substance used
for the purpose of enhancing performance.
Ergogenic aids have been classified in the
following ways:
• Nutritional (creatine)
• Pharmacological (steroids)
• Physiological (blood doping)
• Psychological (mental skills)
• Biomechanical (equipment, such as racing
helmets)
Doping
 The administering or use of substances in any
form alien to the body or physiological
substances taken in abnormal amounts and with
abnormal methods by healthy persons with the
exclusive aim of attaining an artificial and unfair
increase of performance in competition.
(Prokop, 1990)
History of Doping
 Ancient Greeks ate plants to try to improve
performance at the Olympic Games.
 1886: Fatality of an English cyclist using the
stimulant trimethyl.
 1904 Olympic Games: Some American cyclists used
strychnine.
 1952 Olympic Games: Cyclist’s death caused by
amphetamine overdose.
Historical Efforts to Stop Doping
 1950s: IOC passed a resolution against doping.
 1967: IOC established a medical commission to
control drug use.
 1976 Montreal Olympic Games dominated by East
German women‘s swim team (they win all but 2
events, their FIRST gold medals ever).
(continued)
Historical Efforts to Stop Doping (cont)
 1983: The USOC Drug Control program was
established (widespread perception that the
USOC was helping athletes beat testing
programs).
 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul: Ben
Johnson.
Motives for Doping
 Competitiveness:
The perception that doping is necessary for success.
 Self-esteem:
If success is seen as essential for a positive selfconcept, cheating becomes possible.
 Sport deviance:
Jay Coakley’s (1991) concept of positive deviance.
Positive Deviance
 Overcompliance to the norms and values
embodied in the sport ethic:
• Win at all costs
• No pain, no gain
• Sacrifice for the team
 Possible to view illegal behaviors (steroid use) as
positive because they are for the good of the
team (help us win)
(Hughes & Coakley, 1991)
Classes of Banned Substances
 Anabolic-androgenic
steroids
 Stimulants
 Narcotic analgesics
 Beta-adrenergic
blockers
 Diuretics
Terminology
 Drug misuse:
The taking of a substance for a purpose, but not in
the appropriate amount, frequency, strength, or
manner.
 Drug abuse:
“The deliberate use of a substance for other than its
intended purpose, in a manner that can damage
health or the ability to function” (Lombardo, 1993).
Fundamental Problems With Doping
 Ethics: Illegal use
(e.g., steroids) gives
athletes an unfair
advantage
 Addictive potential
 Harmful side effects
Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids
 Steroids:
Synthetic derivatives of the male hormone
testosterone. Modified to stay in system.
 Anabolic effects:
Increasing muscle strength and size.
 Androgenic effect:
Masculinizing
Steroid Use in Sport
 Injectable and ingestible steroids.
 Cycling: the use of cycles of steroids to avoid
tolerance. A cycle is a period of between 6 and 14
weeks of steroid use, followed by a period of
abstinence or reduction in use.
 Stacking: the use of combinations of different
steroids to enhance or potentiate the effects.
(continued)
Steroid Use in Sport (cont)
 Pyramiding: With this method users slowly escalate
steroid use (increasing the number of drugs used at
one time or the dose and frequency of one or more
steroids), reach a peak amount at midcycle, and
gradually taper the dose toward the end of the
cycle.
 Masking agents are taken to cover traces of
steroids. Diuretics, probenocid, and epitestosterone
may be used to mask anabolic steroid use.
Effects of Anabolic Steroids
 Increased muscle size and strength
 Changes in body composition (cut) with
anaerobic training
 Increased blood volume
 Increased number of red blood cells
 Decreased time for injury rehab
Harmful Consequences




Increased risk of heart disease
Increased risk of cancer
High blood pressure and stroke
In men:
• Shrinking testes
• Enlarged breasts
• Hair loss
• Possible sterility
 “Roid rage”
Side Effects of Steroid Use in Females
 Shrinking breasts and uterus
 Enlarged clitoris
 Increased facial and body hair
 Deepening voice
 Irregular menstruation
Other Performance-Enhancing
Substances and Methods
Creatine
 Food supplement synthesized from amino acids.
In the form of phosphocreatine, it serves as an
energy buffer during intense exercise.
 Beneficial for anaerobic, not aerobic,
sports.
(continued)
Creatine (cont)
 Increases body mass.
Increases water
retention.
 Not banned by most
sports.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
 Hormone naturally secreted by the pituitary gland
promotes physical development (particularly the
growth of bone) during adolescence.
 It stimulates the synthesis of collagen, which is
necessary for strengthening cartilage, bones,
tendons, and ligaments, and also stimulates the liver
to produce growth factors.
 In adults, HGH increases the number of red blood
cells, boosts heart function, and makes more energy
available by stimulating the breakdown of fat.
Risks of HGH
 Too much HGH before or during puberty can lead to
gigantism, which is excessive growth in height and
other physical attributes.
 After puberty, inflated levels of HGH can cause
acromegaly, a disease characterized by excessive
growth of the head, feet, and hands. The lips, nose,
tongue, jaw, and forehead increase in size and the
fingers and toes widen and become spadelike. The
organs and digestive system may also increase in
size, which may eventually cause heart failure.
Acromegaly sufferers often die before the age of 40.
Excessive HGH in adults may also lead to diabetes.
GHB
 Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
 Produced naturally in the body, but if ingested in
abnormal amounts, it can lead to distorted
physical characteristics and even death.
 Banned by the IOC.
EPO
 Erythropoietin is manufactured naturally by the
kidneys. EPO stimulates the production of red
blood cells in bone marrow and regulates the
concentration of red blood cells and hemoglobin in
the blood. This is useful for athletes, since red
blood cells shuttle oxygen to the cells, including
muscle cells, enabling them to operate aerobically.
 By injecting EPO, athletes aim to increase their
concentration of red blood cells and, consequently,
their aerobic capacity.
EPO and Cycling
 EPO hit the headlines
in 1998 when the
Festina-sponsored
team in cycling’s Tour
de France was
disqualified after
being caught redhanded with large
quantities of it and
other banned
substances.
Stimulants
 Amphetamines
 Cocaine
 Caffeine
• Before 2003, over 18 ounces of coffee was
prohibited.
• Caffeine and pseudophedrine were removed from
the list of banned substances in 2003.
 Widespread use of Sudafed in NHL?
• http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/wee
kly/980202/nhlstory.html
Depressants
 Barbiturates
 Beta-adrenergic blockers (for shooting sports)
• Used by many heart patients to reduce blood
pressure
• Aids performance by slowing heart rate and
decreasing anxiety
• Banned by IOC
• Side effects include hypotension, CNS
disturbances, and impotence
 Alcohol
 Sedatives
Pro-Drug Use
 Allow use because they are “part of modern
sport.”
 “Drugs are no more artificial than the entourage
of aides and physical equipment commonplace in
contemporary sport.”
—Dr. Ellis Cashmore, Staffordshire University in England
 Argument that current antidrug policies are
fraught with hypocrisy. Sport leagues stand to
gain from bigger, stronger players and more
exciting contests.
Disconnected Values Model
 Based on the premise that people are more likely
to change their behavior when they acknowledge
the disconnect between their actions (negative
habits) and their deepest values and beliefs.
--Developed by Mark Anshel, based on the work of Jim Loehr,
Tony Schwartz, and Jack Groppel.
(continued)
Disconnected Values Model (cont)