Performance-Enhancing Drugs - Essay Example

 Performance-Enhancing Drugs Performance-enhancing drugs refer to substances that are used by people, mostly the sportsmen from different fields, to make their performances better (Bahrke and Yesalis 4). Additionally, the human growth hormone may also be used to increase an individual’s performance. The use of performance-enhancing drugs in the sports area has been in existence since the ancient Maya and Greece (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 12). Performance potions were used by the Greeks to enhance their abilities, while cocoa leaves were used by the Maya for the same purpose as the Greeks’. Nowadays, sportsmen and women will go to extreme lengths to improve their athletic abilities (Mottram 18). Many sports personalities admit that the competitive desire to be victorious is unusually severe. Apart from the pleasure of benefiting individually, sports individuals share a dream to participate in large sporting events, high class teams, and the young athletes pursue the school scholarships. The common, competitive situation, made by the human culture, has caused the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs such as stimulants, sedatives, lean mass builders and painkillers among individuals taking part in sporting activities (Bahrke and Yesalis 8). The people who use the substances for enhancement may appear to have acquired gains that are physical. There has not been a thorough study on the long-term effects of performance-enhancement drugs, but evidence suggests that the short-term effects are destructive with numerous consequences like loss of scholarships, medals, eligibility, side-effects, and sometimes death. (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 19) This paper will look at the performance-enhancement drugs that should be accepted in sports, and whether creatine should be illegalized in Major League Baseball Several performance enhancement drugs should be legalized in sports, they include: Lean Mass Builders This are the types of performance-enhancement substances that are used to amplify or facilitate the enlargement of lean body mass and muscles, and from time to time to lessen fats in the body. These drugs may include several human hormones, anabolic steroids, and Chromium Picolinate. Chromium Picolinate, for instance, helps an individual to make use of the body glucose. It helps an individuals’ body to access fats and convert it to energy. This drug is more useful to people who have additional body fat and they would like to lose it (Mottram 23). Stimulants They are used to stimulate an individual’s mind and body to function at the top level by increasing energy, aggression, and focus. The examples are amphetamine and caffeine. Caffeine has been for a long time been used as an aid for muscle endurance by many athletes. Caffeine lengthens the duration of fatigue that occurs in the muscles at the heightened power levels. Nowadays, caffeine is a performance-enhancing drug that is not listed as illegal for use by sports personalities. In addition it is proven that stimulants can promote endurance, enhance accuracy, and improve reaction time. The dose of caffeine and the athlete’s condition and exercise determine if the person’s performance is enhanced or not (Mottram 26). Painkillers Painkillers cover up pain that is experienced by the sportsmen so that they can keep on performing and competing without their normal pain limit. Painkillers used in sports vary from over-the-counter administered drugs to prescriptions that are powerful, such as narcotics and NSAIDs (Mottram 28). Sedatives The drugs in this category are mostly used by people who take part in sports which have the need for being steady, accurate and overcome too much discomfort and nervousness. Examples include valium, alcohol, and marijuana (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 34). Diuretics These are drugs that remove water from the body. Diuretics are most often used in different types of wrestling and contact sports because the sportsmen have to conform to weight restraints (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 35). Anabolic Steroids This is a group of steroids that promote the growth of muscles and permit a person train more intensely and recover within a shorter period of time. They function like the testosterone hormones. At the same time some sportsmen prefer to use testosterone hormone instead of anabolic steroids (Bahrke and Yesalis 20). The categorization of substances as performance-enhancing drugs is not particularly accurate and objective. In some instances, drugs that are listed as performance-enhancers do not own this quality, and those that are not listed can actually enhance performance. A substance like caffeine may be considered by some sports authorities a performance-enhancer, but not by others. The presence of performance-enhancing drugs in the sporting scene has tremendously increased. There is a natural desire of people to win, but at the same time recent technologies and research have increased the number of options for illegal competition (Bahrke and Yesalis 21). For example, newly designed performance enhancing drugs come in different forms other than the usual pill. Some sportsmen have gotten away with using these drugs, others have been suspended from their respective disciplines, and some have even experienced premature deaths (Mottram 40). The appeal for athletes to use substances that are performance-enhancing should be understood by any individual who has sufficient knowledge on sports that are of a high standard (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 38). The sportsmen consider winning or being successful the most essential goal of the sporting activities. The ultimate objective at the professional sports level is always winning. The winning attitude goes to lower levels of sports as well, to the sports of the youngsters (Mottram 46). The community awards achievement in sports with status, favoritism, and celebrity. For the athletes of all ages, the search for success in the sports is an attempt to be accepted and encouraged. Excellence in sports involves having an upper hand over the competitors or the competition (Bahrke and Yesalis 29). Many people may lose sight of what is right and fair due to the engrossing and compelling desire to be successful. Also people may consider the use of performance-enhancing substances as an alternative to working hard. By other people, the use of these drugs may be seen as an essential addition to their hard work, or an inevitable element of being successful. From the view point of the individual who uses the substances that enhance performance, the dream of becoming triumphant in sports is more fundamental than the possibility of encountering health problems from the use these substances. The massive amounts of money paid to professional sportsmen are strong enticements for people with exceptional talents to do all that is possible to ensure future accomplishment (Jeffrey, Jose, and Douglas 60). Creatine Creatine is a performance-enhancing substance that takes part in the production of energy within a human body. In order to perform actions of high intensity, for example as in power sports, muscles produce energy through the reactions of chemicals as creatine, phosphocreatine, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine triphosphate (Bahrke and Yesalis 37). Creatine is categorized as a supplement for diet and not a drug. Being a food substance, creatine does not have to meet the FDA drug requirements. This means that one does not need a prescription to buy creatine. Sport federations such as, NBA, NFL, Olympics, or MLB do not consider creatine a legal sports substance. It is difficult to illegalize creatine in sports because it is contained in lots of foods (Mottram 70). Creatine should be banned from Major League Baseball. Despite the few advantages it has, the use of creatine presents risks to the ones who use it and also destroys the morals that accompany the sports community. When baseball players use creatine, they can stock up additionally energy. Creatine helps to produce more energy at the start and throughout the practice session or game. The increase in energy levels facilitates enhanced bat movement and quicker reactions of the players. During weight lifting, creatine permits a baseball player to lift more weight without getting tired. In general the major idea behind sporting events is founded on competition that is fair to all participants. This should be a platform where athletes compete against one another and thus provide entertainment to the viewers (Bahrke and Yesalis 58). Additionally, the use of creatine changes the accent of competition from the winner being the most hardworking and talented to the one who uses the best substances. On the other hand, these substances may have a negative effect on the health of users in the long run. Sports laws that prohibit the use of this drug are more for the protection of those who play the sport (Bahrke and Yesalis 66). Creatine is dangerous, and the players should not be permitted to freely use it. There have been negative health concerns from the use of creatine. Some players have reported diarrhea, muscle cramps, increased urination, and stomach aches. This is mainly caused by a large intake of the creatine powder by the athletes, which goes into the stomach, draws water from the body and causes intestine cramps (Mottram 70). The use of drugs that enhance performance is extensively perceived as being unethical in the sports. There are many reasons for them to be banned. Athletes may have the freedom to do all they want with their bodies, but they should consider the side effects and future effects of the drugs. Furthermore, the use of these substances is cheating as the athletes win not due to their efforts, but rather because of good pills, and sportsmen’s success should be a result of hard work and natural talents (Mottram 75).   Works Cited Bahrke, M. S., and Yesalis, C. E. Performance Enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise. Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2002. Print. Jeffrey, R., Jose, S. and Douglas, A. Essentials of Creatine in Sports and Health. New York: Humana Press, 2010. Print. Mottram, D. Drugs in Sport. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Read More