The debate around the role of drugs in sport is vibrant. There is a wealth of evidence from the hard end of science, telling us how drugs work, how drug testing works, and how many athletes have fallen foul of the system. The evidence from social science is still building momentum. For example, what makes an athlete use a performance enhancing substance? "To win" simply fails to explain the drug use behaviour we see among athletes. This book provides a foundation for anyone trying to understand the drugs in sport problem beyond the hard science by looking at the "people factor" from different perspectives. After building a case for the social science of drugs in sport, it is examined from the ethical, sociological, economic, legal and psychological points of view. The book concludes with a definitive statement about what researchers, policy makers, sports administrators, athletes and fans can do to achieve a social science of drugs in sport that puts people firmly in the centre of the debate. This volume was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

Why do many athletes risk their careers by taking performance-enhancing drugs? Do the highly competitive pressures of elite sports teach athletes to win at any cost? An Introduction to Drugs in Sport provides a detailed and systematic examination of drug use in sport and attempts to explain why athletes have, over the last four decades, increasingly used performance-enhancing drugs. It offers a critical overview of the major theories of drug use in sport, and provides a detailed analysis of the involvement of sports physicians in the development and use of performance-enhancing drugs. Focusing on drug use within elite sport, the book offers an in-depth examination of important contemporary themes and issues, including: the history of drugs in sport and changing patterns of use fair play, cheating and the ‘spirit of sport’ WADA and the future of anti-doping policy drug use in professional football and cycling sociological enquiry and the problems of researching drugs in sport. Designed to help students explore and understand this problematic area of research in sport studies, and richly illustrated throughout with case studies and empirical data, An Introduction to Drugs in Sport is an invaluable addition to the literature. It is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the relationship between drugs, sport and society.

Drugs, sport and the law.

The use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in elite sport, known as 'doping', is hidden in nature and increasingly widespread. Recent local and international doping scandals involving professional cyclists and football players have brought the issue of drugs in sport under greater scrutiny. Catching drug cheats is essential if sports are to be conducted fairly and if harmful health effects from drug abuse are to be avoided. A number of sports are plagued by suspicions that many top athletes resort to drug-taking to enhance their performance through the use of such substances as anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, erythropoietin (EPO), beta-blockers, stimulants and diuretics. This book examines anti-doping regulation in Australia and globally, and presents a range of opinions on the ethics of drugs in sport. Elite sports people are always seeking a competitive edge, to break records and win, sometimes at an ethical cost. What substances and methods are considered doping, and how can regulation and testing ensure all athletes have a sporting chance? Should drug cheats continue to be punished for doping, or should doping even be made legal?

Provides an overview of the issues associated with the use of drugs in sports, with a glossary of terms and a fully annotated bibliography.

"The inside story about drug use in sport and its political cover-up, with a prescription for reform [by the] former chief medical officer for the United States Olympic Committee"--Jacket subtitle.

An IOC insider speaks out on creating a drug-free sports culture With doping charges leveled at athletes in baseball, cycling, and in the Olympics, cheating has, to many onlookers, become the norm in pro sports. With implications far beyond the sports arena, Inside Dope examines the genesis of doping in sports as well as in the world of doctors and trainers; drug testing and the battle to stay ahead of users; drug companies and big business; and the role of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as watchdog. Written by a former Olympian, an IOC official, and a passionate advocate of fair play in sports, this eye-opening book takes a candid look at testing standards and the future of doping and sports and the larger issue of how doping affects the public perception of athletes.