Doping in sports: Types and health risks of sports stimulants as well as national efforts to prevent doping

The General Authority of Sports (GAS) is continuing its efforts to prevent doping in sports by athletes to improve performance and strength as well as promote integrity and fair play, through a number of initiatives, including the recently launched campaign that bears the slogan ‘I reject doping’. In partnership with various sports entities, such as the National Olympic Committee, the National Anti-Doping Agency, the Emirates Center for Sports Sciences and Sports Medicine and the Emirates Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Association, the Authority aims to raise awareness of the dangers and risks associated with the use of stimulants in sports. It seeks to pave the way for a clean, competitive, and doping-free sports environment, thereby preserving the ethics and integrity of sports, and increasing the competitiveness of the sector. This comes in line with the National Sports Strategy 2031, which is aimed at promoting the principles of sports integrity and fair play as well as elevating the reputation of Emirati sports at regional and global levels.

National anti-doping efforts

Sports authorities in the UAE place significant emphasis on adhering to the mandatory procedures and mechanisms as well as following medical examinations based on the best international practices in the field of anti-doping. This is believed to contribute to the ethical development of the sports system, strengthen the values of integrity and fair play, improve the crucial role of the sports authorities, bodies and individuals, and educate the public about anti-doping. The authorities aim to correspond with the World Anti-Doping Code standards approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency, in conjunction with the ongoing qualifying competitions for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The Authority, in collaboration with its partners, set up seminars, lectures, and workshops before and during sporting events, to raise awareness of the risks of doping, the need to combat them, and introduce them to the international laws on doping. These workshops and seminars are aimed at players of all ages, amateur and professional players, administrators in sports teams, national teams, doctors, and therapists, as well as administrators on the boards of directors of organisations. This is consistent with the vision and guidelines of the wise leadership that emphasise the need to focus on the development of the sports industry, athletes' health, fitness levels, and public health in order to attain the desired level of sports development and score medals at various international sporting events.

The most prominent types of sports stimulants
 

There are many different kinds of sports stimulants, most of which fall under the category of hormones. The most prominent among these is testosterone, a male hormone that gives masculine characteristics to a person and boosts the mass of his/her bones and muscles. Each type carries a significant risk to one's health. The longer one uses stimulants, the greater these harms will be and the more likely one may develop an addiction.

In sports like weightlifting, bodybuilding, and others that call for a large amount of muscle strength, anabolic steroids are employed to improve performance. Due to the retention of water and salt, these steroids increase the size of muscle fibres and strength, which improves the athlete's sense of challenge as well as his/her physical ability. However, they can sometimes lead to infertility and have harmful effects on the liver, skin, heart, circulatory system, and endocrine system. They can further possibly promote the growth of some types of cancers and occasionally psychological issues, in addition to having an impact on growth.

Sports stimulants are a subset of steroids that improve cardiovascular system performance. Athletes use them to relieve stress and anxiety and sharpen their focus while working out. Along with lowering the heart's functional capacity and blood circulation as they decrease activity, this type has substantial adverse effects on the heart and blood vessels.

Reports and Statistics on Harms of Doping

In addition to major health problems and numerous medical complications, steroids also have social and psychological side effects that negatively impact social cohesion. As a result, the International Olympic Committee established a law that forbids the trafficking of sports stimulants under Article 2 paragraph (7). The law states, ‘prohibiting trafficking or attempting to traffic any substance or method prohibited by an athlete or any other person’.

Natural hormones in the human body are impacted by doping. According to trained medical professionals, hormonal doping is harmful to public health and can cause muscle expansion, particularly the heart muscle. The use of steroids by some professional athletes can negatively affect how people perceive sports in the present, especially among younger generations. According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by some professional athletes significantly reduced their honesty and integrity, which disappointed young sportsmen.

Furthermore, athletes who use drugs suffer grave health effects. Those who use these stimulants run a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, liver damage, kidney dysfunction, hormone imbalances, and psychiatric issues, according to a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Steroid use also compromises the values of sportsmanship and fair competition. Over 80 percent of the cases in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) investigated between 2003 and 2020 involved doping, demonstrating the severity of the problem in sports.

In May, the General Authority of Sports and its partners launched an anti-doping campaign with the slogan ‘Say No to Doping.’ The campaign participated in many sporting events and initiatives to raise awareness among participants about the dangers of doping and to educate them about the need to avoid it. The campaign is continuing until July 2024.