Peds Should Be Banned

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Performance Enhancing Drugs, also known as PEDs, are used by more than 20% of athletes in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage. Many people are debating about how the problem of PED usage should be treated. PEDs harm the world of sports in many different ways and the usage of them needs to be stopped. One way in which PEDs harm the sporting world is by giving users an unfair physical advantage. For example, some PEDs can boost strength by 38% or increase endurance by 34%. This is enough of a boost to give an almost guaranteed victory to users of PEDs. Also, PEDs helped Lance Armstrong, former professional biker, to win seven Tour de Frances (professional biking competitions) in a row. Accomplishing this would’ve been very difficult without the use of PEDs, and created imbalance in that legitimate players couldn’t win. Last, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said that PEDs “do, in fact, …show more content…

For instance, PEDs can cause cancer, acne, stunted growth in teenagers, liver tumors, aggressive behavior, and other harmful side effects. These effects could change athletes’ lives and potentially even kill them. Also, PEDs can cause reproductive issues, such as impotence (a reduction of sperm generated) and reduced testicle size in males, and problems with fertility and the menstrual cycle in females. These effects could change an athlete’s life permanently, as they might not be able to reproduce in the future. Finally, many athletes have lost their career because of PEDs. Lance Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France medals and lost his career when he was caught using PEDs. Athletes who lose their career lose their source of income, possibly resulting in poverty. PEDs harm athletes’ bodies and careers in many different ways and affect their lives negatively in the

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