Doping in sports is the use of drugs that have been banned to boost performance from having an advantage over other competitors. Many international sporting organizations have expressed criticism of athletes who use the banned substances to improve their performance (Al Ghobain). The international Olympic committee has drafted a list of drugs that have been banned for use by the athletes. It has also put measures in place to ensure that the athletes who participate in both local and international competitions are tested before participation. This is to ensure the health safety of the athletes and promote fairness in the competitive sport because competition in sport is built on the principle of competitiveness. The main reason athletes engage in doping is because they are aware of the competition from their opponents and would like to have an advantage over their competitors (Al Ghobain). However, in several instances, athletes have claimed innocence of the doping claims citing ignorance or implicated their trainers as the cause of the doping. These claims, however, do not eliminate the fact that doping is a threat to the sports industry that should be fought the ethics that protect the credibility of sporting competitions will fade away. Performance enhancing drugs should not be allowed in competitions, and it should be banned because it is considered as cheating, it causes health problems, and it can influence young athletes to try to use these drugs.

The world Anti-doping Agency (WADA) is an organization that sets standards against doping and on a global scale (USADA). The organization conducts investigations on athletes that have been suspected of doping and conducts required tests on athletes before participating in international competitions such as the Olympics and the IAAF competitions (USADA). WADA also conducts research on new doping agents that have been altered and used by athletes to be able to dope undetected. There is a high occurrence of doping in the global sporting competitions. A study conducted by WADA on athletes who were part of the world athletics championship in 2011 revealed that at least 30 percent of the athletes had intentionally doped at some point in their competitive career (USADA). Out of the athletes who were subjected to the anti-doping tests, only 0.5 percent were found guilty of the allegations. Historically, the advantages of using performance-enhancing drugs in sports have been evident in global competitions like the Olympics. A good example is Ben Johnson, a Canadian sprinter who won the 1988 100 meters race in the Olympic competitions in Seoul. Despite the fact that his victory was canceled, the behavior of using performance-enhancing drugs in sport creates a negative priority in competition with some athletes willing to break the law to be awarded winners.

Doping involves the use of drugs that are added to the athlete’s system to ensure maximum functionality of the body during the competition (USADA). The most common drugs that are used in doping are the stimulants, steroids and anabolic steroids. Stimulants are the kind of drugs that are administered with the intention of stimulating the central nervous system (USADA). These drugs work by stimulating the brain to increase the feeling of excitement, self-confidence and increase the ability of the body to tolerate stress that would be impossible if the body was operating at a normal physiological level. Steroids and anabolic steroids are also used by athletes to boost performance. The anabolic steroids increase the masculine nature of body by increasing the level of hormones such as testosterone which also increases the muscle strength of the individual (USADA).

One of the main reasons that doping should never be allowed in sports is because it represents a breach of ethical practice in the field and a deception of the ability of the athlete. The drugs that are commonly used in doping such as the anabolic steroids have been realized to alter the normal physiological functioning of the human body (Landy et al). The changes are such as increasing the muscle strength of the individual and their general body energy. The anabolic steroids assume the function of testosterone at a higher level making the athlete more masculine than the competitors (Landy et al). This provides the person with an absolute advantage over the other athletes who are depending on their natural masculinity. The advantage of the doping agent is usually kept a secret by many athletes, and this creates an unfair playground for competition. An illustration of the effect of the doping agents in building the ability of the athlete was witnessed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics after Johnson Ben’s win was canceled after he was found guilty of using performance-enhancing medication after his urine tested positive for anabolic steroids (Landy et al). The Olympic committee’s report of the athlete’s test concluded that the drugs that the athlete had taken played a key role in boosting his ability to win the race which set an unfair advantage which is against the ethics of sportsmanship.

Doping is also cheating in the sense of competition against world records and the past retired athletes who happened to set those records. An athlete who set a world record without the influence of performance-enhancing drugs deserves to be competing against fairly without the introduction of new variables such as performance enhancing drugs (Landy et al). Introduction of the use of PEDs in the field of athletics suggests ignoring the hard work and performances of the past athletes who managed to set records without the use of the drugs. Allowing all athletes to use PEDs in future competition would seem fair to those competing for being provided with equal grounds for the competition but would be unfair to the past generations of athletes who participated in the sport (Landy et al). It is the culture of sports to be fair to the competitors an advantage in sport should only be acquired through training and studied knowledge and not performance enhancement through the use of drugs.

The contents that are commonly found in the PEDs such as anabolic androgens and stimulants of the central nervous system tend to have potentially negative effects on the individuals. Each group of PEDs has different effects on the individual sometimes displaying different effects for male and female athletes (De Oliveira et al). The use of anabolic steroids has been realized to increase the level of low-density lipoproteins. Increase in low-density lipoprotein has been linked with a high spread of high blood pressure and an increased risk of stroke (De Oliveira et al). Fat sediments in the blood that is a result of the use of steroids can easily cause the occurrence of fat emboli which can block the blood supply of the person to the brain, causing a necrotic stroke.  The steroids also increase an individual’s risk to infertility, pathology of the liver and kidney failure (De Oliveira et al). Use of anabolic steroids in females have been associated with an increase in masculinity and a reduction of the feminine nature of the females. This is evidenced in increased of the vocals of the female making it similar to the men, a decrease in the size of the breast and baldness (Landy et al). In males, there is an increased risk of prostate cancer and makes the size of the testicles small. The use of steroids is associated with a decrease in the immunity of the body (Landy et al). Steroids suppress the immune responses of the body, and this leaves an individual vulnerable to infections during the period of use, infections that could cause blood rotting and eventually death. 

Use of stimulants that directly act on the central nervous system brings about psychological effects to the athletes (USADA). There is a change in the behavior of the athlete that is associated with stimulants of the brain through the use of cocaine or ephedrine. These stimulants cause a chronic increase in the blood pressure of the athlete causing the onset of hypertension in the individual (USADA). There is a decreased need for sleep due to the overstimulation of the brain, and this interferes with the daily routine of the person. Chronic lack of sleep results in agitation increased aggressiveness and loss of appetite. In some instances, chronic lack of sleep causes hallucinations and eventually depression. 

The discussion surrounding the doping issue in sports threatens to create a culture of doping without the regard for consequences to the sport and the health of individuals (BBC News). A doping culture is a social or legal acceptance of doping in the field of sport. The first step in the development of a doping culture is the acceptance of the use of PEDs, despite their high potential to cause complications (Nicholls et al). This acceptance was well illustrated by the Goldman dilemma that was assumed for a study that was conducted for a group of athletes in the 1970’s. Bob Goldman, a researcher, posted a question asking athletes whether they would use a drug that made them athletic champions but kill them within five years. Surprisingly, approximately 50 percent of the athletes confirmed that they would prefer to use the PEDs and achieve success in the field of athletics as opposed to making decisions that would protect their health (Nicholls et al). The desire to win in the athlete's minds succeeds their moral responsibility to observe the sports ethics and be aware of their own physical and mental health. The development of a doping culture is because of the different personalities that the athletes possess that create a desire for victory regardless of the means nor the consequences of the use of the PEDs. Personality traits such as Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism have been discovered in athletes who have a high desire to win, and this increases the risk of use of the PEDs (Nicholls et al).  These personality traits increase the likelihood of an individual not to care about consequences or the feelings of others in a competitive environment.

There is a group of people who argue that it would be beneficial to the sporting industry if doping were to be allowed. The argument is that under the supervision of a well-trained physician, it would be possible to allow doping of all the athletes that compete at any given level of competition (Wiesing). All the athletes would be provided an opportunity to enhance their performance using drugs such as anabolic steroids and brain stimulants to allow them to compete at the highest level of physical ability that each would be able to bring out (Wiesing). The legal doping will create a fair ground for the competition, and this reduces the bias that originally existed when only a few athletes doped and posed challenges for the non-doping athletes. The presence of the physician to monitor the response of the athlete to these enhancing drugs ensures that the level of doping is not dangerous to cause negative effects on health (Wiesing). The physician monitors the vital signs of the athlete and ensures that all signs of danger are detected before the athlete is already in danger. Sponsors of doping in sports argue that the use of performance-enhancing drugs were initially allowed for long distance running had minimal side effects to the individual. In the Olympic competitions of 1904, a marathon distance runner, Thomas Hicks won the gold medal after using the drug Strychnine to boost his performance in the race (BBC News). At the time, the international athletics organization allowed the use of Strychnine in long distance running. This drug improved the muscle strength of the athlete and also increased tolerance of the athlete to fatigue and harsh environmental conditions.

This line of thought is however faulty and misleading to the athlete. Despite the fact that allowing doping will balance the playing ground for all current athletes, retired athletes will not get a chance to be at the same level of fairness (Tucker et al). Certain records that were set by athletes who did not use PEDs will be broken by athletes who use the drugs. This will be an unfair basis for record-breaking as the two groups will be competing at the same level but with different abilities due to the enhancement (Tucker et al). There is also no guarantee that the doctor will be able to successfully prevent problems in an athlete after the use of PEDs as the human body reacts differently to this kind of drugs. The risk might be reduced, but it still exists.

The first step in the fight against doping is to create awareness and provide education among athletes and the general population about doping and its effects. The education will target topics such as the history of doping in sports, the health effects of doping and the negative effect of doping on competition and the sports culture. This information will be critical to the athletes to encourage them to continue to uphold the value of competition in sports and create respect for victory as opposed to the desire to win despite lack of sufficient preparation by the athlete. Setting up of strict rules and scrutiny of athletes before and after competitions will be important in reducing the instances of doping.  The purpose of the tests before and after competitions is to ensure that the athletes who are found guilty are not allowed to participate in the competitions until the influence of the drug to the body clears. Putting up harsh penalties and long periods of suspension or expulsion for those found guilty of doping will also ensure that athletes understand the consequences of doping and would not repeat this behavior.  The international organization against doping, WADA, should provide a full list of the banned substances and enable free access for the athletes to avoid instances of ignorance or lack of information as far as these PEDs are concerned.

It is important to ensure that doping in sports is never allowed. An honest and fair competition which is the principle in sports can only be assured in the event that doping is made illegal. This will provide a fair competition for both the present and the past athletes who participated in events without the use of PEDs. The ability of the athlete to perform well consistently is boosted by good training and care of good health. The negative effects of the PEDs such as steroids and brain stimulants increase the risk of death due to drug abuse by the athletes (USADA). The diseases that are caused by these drugs such as hypertension, heart disease and the risk for stroke reduces the ability of the athlete to compete for long and affect their participation in sports. Banning of these drugs will play a key role in promoting good health in the athletes and also create a culture of fairness in any sports competition.
