Doping in sport and its developments in our age

Abstract

Man has always tried to improve his physical performance. Doping is an ancient phenomenon. It exists not only in professional sport, but also affects amateur athletes. Furthermore, it involves athletes' friends and relatives, medical staff, managers, chemists, biologists and pharmacists, pharmaceutical industries, clandestine laboratories and criminal organizations. Over time, doping has shown a great ability to discover and always use new substances and appropriated the new scientific discoveries. Unfortunately, new discoveries for the human health are been used in distorted way by the athletes. In fact, the athletes may be able to use gene therapy to re-engineer their bodies for better performances. Drug dependence depends on several factors: the socio-environmental context of the subject and what effects have the substance in the body. Moreover, the drug dependence could be connected to the indirect gratification. WADA, in 2004, drew up a Code that is constantly emended. The Code explains not only "what is" doping but it contains sanctions too. Others instruments used to contrast doping are the accredited laboratories, the biological passport and the Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS), a Web-based database management system that simplifies the daily activities of all stakeholders and athletes involved in the anti-doping system.