Pubdate: Sat, 08 Aug 1998
Source: Telegraph, The (UK)
Contact: MEDICAL JOURNAL BACKS USE OF DRUGS IN SPORT

A medical journal has joined those thinking the unthinkable about
drug-taking among athletes, arguing that sport has become so artificial that
it is hard to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable aids to
success.

The Lancet says today that competitors are nowadays best described as
highly-paid "professional entertainers" in an arena where "fair play is
becoming an old-fashioned idea". Science, it says, already has a deep
influence on the eating habits of competitors, with the line between drugs
and nutritional supplements increasingly blurred.

The journal states: "How can the dignity of athletes be preserved during
testing? Why should an adult competitor not be allowed to make an informed
choice about a substance provided it is legally acquired?"

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Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"