Unintentional doping?!
In the event of positive testing, it is irrelevant whether the prohibited substance or the prohibited method was used intentionally or unintentionally. While some of the doping pitfalls mentioned in this section have often been used as excuses for positive test results, they have rarely proven successful. Based on WADA's rule of strict liability, the athlete is in any case personally responsible for everything that is found in his/her body. Ignorance is no defense. Some of the most frequent pitfalls for unintentional doping are listed below:
Nutritional supplements
Most of the time, nutritional supplements are assumed to be completely harmless. Vitamins and minerals cannot possibly lead to anti-doping rule violations. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception. Nutritional supplements can, in fact, also contain prohibited substances or be adulterated by, for example, steroid hormones. With some protein preparations or nutritional supplements designed to build muscles, it is possible that the manufacturer has not indicated all substances on the packaging.
Various nutritional supplements may contain prohibited steroid hormones or their predecessor substances without any indication in the manufacturer's information. The Institute of Biochemistry of the German Sports University Cologne (Biochemisches Institut der Deutschen Sporthochschule Köln) carried out a study to examine 634 nutritional supplements from several countries. 94 of these nutritional supplements (14.8%) yielded positive findings of prohibited anabolic-androgenic steroids (so-called prohormones), which were not indicated on the packaging.
According to the label, the positive nutritional supplements were manufactured by companies in the USA, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. Excretion of positive nutritional supplements delivered positive doping samples, in particular regarding the nandrolone metabolite norandrosterone. NADA therefore warns athletes against the use of nutritional supplements. Even if a medication has been examined by a laboratory, another package of it may be contaminated.
NADA Austria's recommendations on nutritional supplements
- NADA Austria generally advises athletes not to take in nutritional supplements. Nutritional supplements do not replace a well-balanced diet. They cannot compensate a poor diet. There is no magic formula, as commercials often suggest. As a rule, a healthy, well-balanced diet is absolutely sufficient for young competitive athletes.
- In case of a lack of specific nutrients or vitamins, athletes should talk to their physician about which preparation or medication to take. Be skeptical and careful in the use of nutritional supplements. You can use NADA Austria's online medication inquiry option. NADA Austria classifies only human medicine medications listed in the Austria Codex, however. The production of nutritional supplements is not subject to the high quality standards of the Austria Codex, therefore no comments are made on their purity or reliability.
- A basic requirement is an expert's analysis and advice. If supplements are not tailored to actual needs, upon ingestion or in the body the effects of the various substances may become mutually impaired (nutrient interaction). Their permanent use is not recommended.
- NADA Austria does not issue any recommendations regarding nutritional supplement manufacturers or products. Some manufacturers declare their products "doping-free" and even give guarantees. Yet in the case of a positive analysis, the athlete can only take legal action against the manufacturer; any contamination is not deemed a mitigating circumstance preventing ineligibility. Medical personnel, dieticians and pharmacists can share their knowledge and give advice. NADA Austria expressly warns athletes against experiments with unknown products or unknown "advisors".
Every athlete is personally responsible for each substance found in his or her body or body fluids. Therefore, he or she has to ensure that any medication, nutritional supplement and any other drug does not contain any prohibited substances. An adverse analytical analysis as a result of contaminated nutritional supplements or any other drug is not excused by the anti-doping rules and leads to sanctions.
If, despite the risks mentioned above, you do not want to do without nutritional supplements, you as an athlete should try to keep the risk of contamination as low as possible. Relevant advice is available on the website www.informed-sport.com
Cannabis
Cannabis has been banned at Olympic Games by the IOC as of January 1999. Since the WADA Code came into force in 2004, cannabis has been banned in all competitions. Cannabis is not exactly a performance-enhancing drug but may lead to risky or careless behavior due to its alleviating and perception-distorting effect. In addition, high dosages may lead to poorer coordination and thus increase the accident risk. Substances such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) degrade very slowly and may lead to a positive test even months after having been used (e.g. when abroad). If the use of cannabis is proved, an athlete may face prosecution. A considerable number of positive doping tests can be explained by the use of cannabis.
Medications
Even prescription-free medications may include doping substances. The brand names of permitted and "prohibited" medications are often very similar and can easily be mistaken. Special caution is required when using foreign medications, which may have the same name but include different substances. It must be stated again here that athletes are personally responsible for the medication they take. If the intake of a "prohibited" medication is necessary for medical reasons, an application for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) must be filed with NADA, with only specific forms of administration being permitted in most cases. When seeing a doctor, the athlete has to inform the physician about his/her athlete status; the same applies when buying drugs in a pharmacy. In order to provide assistance to athletes, NADA Austria regularly publishes a list of examples of permitted medications. Physicians, pharmacists and the drug database provide detailed information on whether or not a certain medication is permitted.
Example: most "WICK" products can be used without hesitation; the syrup "WICK Erkältungssaft für die Nacht", however, includes the prohibited substance ephedrine and must, therefore, not be taken by an athlete prior to a competition. If ephedrine is found in an athlete's body specimen through an in-competition test, an anti-doping rule violation has occurred, regardless of whether the athlete took the substance intentionally or unintentionally.
Odd explanations
Poppy seed cake
Just having a piece of poppy seed cake may lead to a positive doping test, as the Institute of Biochemistry of the German Sports University Cologne (Biochemisches Institut der Deutschen Sporthochschule Köln) proved in an experiment. Poppy seeds include various quantities of the prohibited substance morphine, with the morphine content not indicated anywhere.
Hair restorers
Even athletes may suffer from hair loss. Hair restorers should be used with caution, however. Until recently, the substance finasteride, for example, which may be found in these restorers, was prohibited. Finasteride does not have a performance-enhancing effect but is included in the list of prohibited substances as a so-called masking agent, as it can conceal the use of prohibited anabolic steroids.
Tea
Athletes even have to be careful when drinking a cup of tea, as some Asian teas may contain ephedrine. This substance is listed among prohibited substances in the stimulants category. If a threshold value is exceeded, the doping test is positive.
Framed for doping
Athletes often cannot explain why their doping samples were positive. When looking for an explanation they often blame an unknown person of having contaminated their food with a prohibited substance. In most cases this explanation is a blatant lie, and one must not forget that in top-level sports a lot of money and also fame may be at stake. But some people involved with sports do not shy away from unfair methods in attempting to eliminate immediate competitors or opponents. Most often substances are used that are easy to detect in a doping sample and can be traced for a long time.