In recent years, there has been a rise in the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. What are the consequences of doping for athletes? What measures should be taken to combat this issue?

In recent years, there has been a rise in the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. What are the consequences of doping for athletes? What measures should be taken to combat this issue?

The problem of consumption of medicines to bolster outcomes in sports by sports personnel is not new, but in contemporary times, their application has incremented manifold. However this is severely jeopardizing mental and physical wellbeing of users making it imperative to discover appropriate panacea.

The consumption of substances to perform better than the rival players has the potential to threaten physical and mental wellness in the long run. Where on the one hand, the ingredients of such illegal medications, such as anabolic steroids, can interfere with the flow of blood to the different parts of the body in order to enhance the muscle mass and the stamina, and expose those consuming such material disorders can cause fatal disorders, such as liver and kidney failure, and cardiac complications. For instance, most bodybuilders consuming protein supplements, and mass builders do not survive to live beyond forty or forty-five years because of multiple organ failure.

Similarly, long term usage can also result in unfavorable impact on the mental health as the players using these can become completely dependent on such interventions, and face issues like depression and mood swings if  they try to abandon their application since such formulations are addictive and turn the nervous system of the consumers weak.

Curtailing this practice is possible provided governments come down heavily and take strict steps like banning the players using such drugs or life, and also taking away all their privileges. Similarly, the sports practitioners must be comprehensively counseled and rehabilitated so that they can be discouraged from engaging in such illegal practices.

Overall, sports professionals using tools to help them excel in their sporting disciplines can cost them dearly, in terms of their health. Therefore, the state should adopt zero- tolerance policy for such behaviour and impose penalties.