Wednesday 27 July 2011

Olympics 2012: Cocaine, Ecstasy In - Tobacco Out?

Don't ever accuse this blog of not being topical.

OLYMPIC athletes who test positive for cocaine and ecstasy should not face an automatic ban from competing, the British anti-doping agency has said.

Professional sportsmen and women currently face a two-year ban if they are found to have the illegal substances in their system during competition.

But in a document seen by The Times, UK Anti-Doping, the agency responsible for random testing of British athletes, says the sanctions are disproportionately harsh. Regulations on recreational drugs and medications including asthma inhalers should be relaxed in time for the London Games, the report says.

Drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine are judged by scientists to have no performance-enhancing effects in most sports.
Meanwhile, where tobacco is concerned, the opposite is being mooted.

[...] smokeless tobacco products are of growing popularity in sport owing to potential performance enhancing properties and absence of adverse effects on the respiratory system [...] considering the adverse effects of smoking on the respiratory tract and numerous health threats detrimental to sport practice at top level, likelihood of smokeless tobacco consumption for performance enhancement is greatly supported.
Sadly, the full text is behind a paywall, but a kindly fellow jewel robber furnished me with the benefits attributable to nicotine claimed therein.

"Promotion of related positive reinforcing effects results in vigilance, reduced stress, mood modulation and lower body. Interestingly, nicotine also triggers a significant increase of pulse rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and epinephrine release owing to simultaneous stimulant and relaxant properties. As a consequence ... smokeless tobacco is a very attractive drug from a doping perspective.”
So, let's get this straight. There are no benefits to tobacco consumption whatsoever ... unless such benefits can be used against it. Yep, that's about the consistency of information we've come to expect.

Sit round the athletes' villages of the future socially puffing waccy-baccy and you'll get a rap on the knuckles, but stick some snus under your lip? Don't even go there, Sven!

Presumably, they'll be coming to strip Hestrie Cloete of her medals soon enough, too.

As an added bonus, here's the mightily popular Shirley Strong doing rather well for GBR in Los Angeles 1984.


You shouldn't need to ask why that's relevant.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Er, trust me on this one, cocaine would make you much more confident and quite possibly way more aggressive. Useful in say the boxing or sprint/power events or Judo etc.

nisakiman said...

Yes, I would concur with the above. It's not called Bolivian Marching Powder for nothing...

Xopher said...

I assume you're talking about the Olympics taking place in my Country.I never asked for them but I understand they cost me a few quid and like the majority of the populace I have not a bit of bit interested in them. Probably not too bad 'cos we can't afford to go there .

Fredrik Eich said...

Dick, thanks for that vid of Shirley, I remember reading somewhere that she plays darts now, another string to her bow!
That makes three strings, hurdels, darts and the other one!

James Higham said...

They're certainly hitting the smokers any which way they can.

Anonymous said...

Heard an an interview with Cloete where she said she would have smoked between jumps had they let her.

The focus on smokeless tobacco as performance enhancing is a very cunning way of getting at sportspeople who smoke.

Anonymous said...

For heavens sake,there's so much
bullshit seeping from this Olympic
nightmare,standing outside a CAMRA
joint with a wet fag* is almost Nirvana
Any Englishman still with some tripe in his trousers may wish to join me in renting a flat in Ulan Bator for the duration of this
nauseating sporting misery.
*No wise cracks,please.

Rubicon South Bank
(SPQR one)

Klaus K said...

About the benefits of tobacco and nicotine:

http://dengulenegl.dk/English/Nicotine.html