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Performance enhancing drugs and its effects on the athlete
The effects of performance enhancing drugs essay
The effects of performance enhancing drugs essay
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The question that is debatable in today’s times is should performance enhancing drugs be legal for athletes to take. In today’s competitive world of all types of spots, athletes try to get a competitive edge over their competition by using performance enhancing drugs, even when they know it can be detrimental to their health and their lives in so many ways. In the society we live in today, many athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs. So many things point to why performance enhancing drugs should be banned, and if taken, the consequences can be severe. These drugs have such a negative effort on your body if they drugs as “so-called” taken correctly or not taken correctly. Athletes have become so competitive that their judgment becomes clouded by the want to be superior in the sport, even if it means doing something illegal such as taking performance enhancing drugs. “It's human nature to obtain an edge, whether in combat, in business or in sports,” says Charles Yesalis, a professor of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University and a leading expert on — and opponent of — performance-enhancing drugs” (Jost). The athletes that consume these products, also known as “doping” reap rewards and benefits that the athlete who does not take the drugs receive. Some of the advantages that athletes get as a result from taking performance enhancing drugs are the promotion of muscle building (Mayo Clinic). “These type of performance-enhancers serve mainly as training aids. By helping muscles to recuperate more quickly from exhaustion or injury, these substances enable users to train more frequently and for longer periods at high intensity” (Worsnop). These drugs provide a type of “high” that allows them t... ... middle of paper ... ...g athletes and if for no other reason, that alone should scare us all, especially the parents of these young athletes. Works Citied J. Savulescu, B. Foddy, M. Clayton. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2004. Web. 27 February 2014. United States Doping Agency. 2001 – 2004. Web. 28 February 2014. http://www.usada.org/effects-peds. Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 1998-2004. Web. 4 March 2014. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134 ESPN.com. Report: ARod Test Positive in 2003. Web. 8 February 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3890785 Jost, Kenneth. "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 23 July 2004: 613-36. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Worsnop, Richard L. "Athletes and Drugs." CQ Researcher 26 July 1991: 513-36. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Professional athletes, throughout history, have been exalted for their outstanding abilities and achievements in sports. Unfortunately, many athletes have turned to anabolic steroids in order to give them an edge, a boost their athletic performance. Starting with the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships, where the Soviets unexpectedly dominated their lifting classes with the use of steroids, it has become increasingly popular among athletes to cheat with the help of this drug. Although the appeal to steroid use is evident when observing how it increases someone’s athletic abilities, many users fail to consider the detrimental side effects of the drug. Also, in my opinion, athletes should be expected to perform based upon their natural abilities, opposed to abilities enhanced by anabolic steroids. Ultimately, anabolic steroids should continue to be illegal in professional sports due to their major health risks and the unfair advantage they serve players.
Kuhn, C., Swartzwelder, S., and Wilson, W. Pumped: Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training. 2000. W.W. Norton, New York and London.
Jost, Kenneth. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Overview." Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 14 (23 July 2004): 616-622. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
MacAuley, Domhnall. “Drugs in Sport.” BMJ: British Medical Journal, 313.7051, 7/27/96, 211. Online. EBSCOhost. 16 Nov. 1999. http://www.EBSCOhost.com.
This article effectively communicates the idea to its audience, of how large of a problem the use of performance enhancing drugs has become in sports. Using logos mostly to persuade the reader, Sullivan conveys his position with multiple examples of how things have changed throughout the years and the possible negative effects that may arise in the future. The author presents a need for intervention, but also feels discouraged about the possibility of one happening in the near future, that doesn’t involve punishment by which he ends by stating “pass the syringe”(Sullivan 3), symbolizing defeat in the fight against illegal drugs.
"Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Jacobson, Robert. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs." Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
The use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs is a common trend that is currently fascinating athletes all over the world. Athletes who are using these drugs are damaging the sport and harming their bodies at the same time. Seeking a greater athletic physique and ability, athletes turned to the use of steroids. Once the dangers and possible health risks arose, athletes then turned to performance enhancers. Two specific supplements have taken the sports world by storm and now are being used by athletes of all ages. They are androstenedione and creatine. It took years until people began to understand how dangerous steroids really were. These performance enhancers, like androstenedione and creatine are going to produce the same results.
Mohun, Janet and Aziz Khan. Drugs, Steroids, and Sports. New York, NY: F. Watts, 2008.
“Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the Risks.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 June 2013
middle of paper ... ... For these reasons alone, I believe that performance-enhancing drugs should remain illegal for the welfare of athletes. Performance-enhancing drugs should continue to be banned from professional sports because they have side effects that athletes may be unaware of, there is a disadvantage to athletes that do use PED’s and it is unfair to previous athletes who hold records.
Since drugs have become easier to get they have also become more popular with young people and competitors in sports. During the mid-nineteenth new drugs emerged from the laboratories athletes started to be experimented on. The French tried using caffeine to enhance their performances. While other Europeans were mixing cocaine and heroin to give them extra energy they called this drug “speedball”. In 1886 this deadly mix contributed to the first drug related death in sports by taking the life of a cross-country cyclist. Today the drugs have changed dramatically many athletes have done or are on anabolic steroids, amphetamines, depressants or what are known as “ brake drugs”.
06 Jan. 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470510544.ch70/summary>. Haugen, Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011.
Doping is a practice that has been going on since the time of "ancient Greek athletes, who supposedly ate herbs, sesame seeds, dried figs, and mushrooms for this purpose" (Hoberman, 1992, 104). Likewise, athletes have readily consumed such drugs as caffeine and alcohol to improve performa...
Overall it is clear that the need to use performance enhancing drugs is outweighed by the consequences and issues caused by performance enhancing drugs. Sporting events such as the world cup, the Olympics or the World Series make young children feel inspired and encouraged about what they could achieve through dedication and hard work. I feel it is important for the sporting industry as well as the athletes to return respectability to the sport. By