HMS, TIP 2018 HSC 31b

Evaluation Statement:

• The use of performance-enhancing drugs by elite athletes proves highly problematic, with severe health risks and significant ethical violations outweighing any temporary performance benefits.

Health Implications

• Performance-enhancing drug use demonstrates devastating effectiveness in causing serious health complications for elite athletes.
• Anabolic steroids create substantial health risks including liver damage, cardiovascular disease and hormonal disruption that can last long after using.
• For example, prolonged steroid use can cause heart attacks, liver tumours, testicular atrophy and psychological disorders like aggression and depression.
• EPO increases red blood cell production but creates dangerous blood thickening that can lead to strokes, pulmonary embolism and heart failure.
• Growth hormone abuse causes joint damage, diabetes and abnormal bone growth.
• The health system bears significant costs treating athletes suffering from drug-related complications, including expensive cardiac procedures and psychiatric treatment.
• Evidence strongly indicates that these substances cause irreversible damage to organs and psychological wellbeing, making their use medically dangerous for any performance benefits.

Ethical Considerations and Drug Testing

• Drug use in elite sport violates fundamental principles of fair competition and athlete integrity, creating systemic corruption within sporting organisations.
• Performance-enhancing substances provide unfair advantages that undermine the essence of sporting achievement based on natural talent, dedication and training.
• For example, when athletes like Lance Armstrong used EPO, they cheated competitors who competed cleanly and deceived millions of fans who believed in their achievements.
• Drug testing programs demonstrate partial effectiveness in detecting violations, with anti-doping authorities catching many offenders through advanced testing methods. However, testing shows significant limitations as new substances constantly emerge and sophisticated doping programs can evade detection through micro-dosing and designer drugs.
• The ethical damage extends beyond individual cheating to include exploitation of young athletes, corruption of sporting institutions and erosion of public trust in competitive sport.

Final Evaluation

• Overall assessment reveals performance-enhancing drugs are highly detrimental to elite sport and athlete welfare.
• The evidence overwhelmingly shows that health risks, ethical violations and competitive integrity damage far outweigh any performance gains.
• While detection systems show some effectiveness, the fundamental problem remains that drug use contradicts the core values of sport and athlete safety.