Should we allow athletes to use performance enhancing drugs?

By allowing everyone to take performance enhancing drugs, we level the playing field. We remove the effects of genetic inequality. Far from being unfair, allowing performance enhancement promotes equality.

Why are steroids illegal in professional sports?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and many professional sports leagues (e.g. Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League) have banned the use of steroids by athletes, both because of their …

Should athletes be allowed to use steroids?

Using steroids to improve athletic performance is considered cheating, and can lead to athletes being penalized or banned from participating in sports. More importantly, using performance-enhancing steroids can have serious, long-term health consequences.

Why should professional athletes be drug tested?

Drug testing in sports helps: Prevent cheating in sports. Protect athletes’ health from using dangerous drugs to perform better. Find athletes who have substance abuse problems.

How does drug use affect athletes?

Stimulants. Athletes may use stimulants such as amphetamines, meth, or Adderall to enhance alertness, increase energy or lose weight. These drugs are commonly abused and often readily available. They can have severe respiratory and neurological effects and are highly addictive.

What are the disadvantages of using drugs in exercise and sport?

Professional athletes are particularly prone to using drugs while participating in their sport….These drugs, which are illegal to use in the United States, can cause severe health problems such as:

• Heart problems.
• High blood pressure.
• Kidney damage.
• Liver disease, including cancer.

Why professional athletes should not be drug tested?

If there aren’t regular drug tests the drug use would spread to everyone. This would cause the sport to become way more violent. Drug abuse occurs in many sports. Also, athletes turn to substances to deal with many stressors, including pressure to perform, and bad physical pain.

How many professional athletes use drugs?

Overall, we found that 8%, or 134 out of 1,684 athletes, said that they had used at least one of those six drugs in the past year. Our preliminary data from 974 athletes showed that 6.7% had used cocaine at least once in their lifetime, and 3.3% had used at least once in the previous year.

What are the dangers of drug abuse in sports?

Cardiovascular problems ⁠— e.g., enlargement of the heart, heart attack and blood clotting. Liver tumors. Liver cancer. Issues stemming from injection use ⁠— e.g., skin infections, HIV transmission and hepatitis.