Dying to win. Doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policy

Dying to win. Doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policy

Doping in the sports world is taking on dramatic proportions. Today, doping may make the difference which could win an athlete a gold medal, lucrative sponsorship and the adulation of countrymen. But doping undermines the integrity of sport and is a real danger to the health of thousands of athletes. Drug abuse in sport has now become an acute international preoccupation.

Barrie Houlihan, Professor of Sport Policy at Loughborough University, was commissioned by Council of Europe Publishing to write an international overview of this rapidly evolving phenomenon. The book, illustrated by specific cases in various pan-European and world sports events, reflects the extent to which athletes will jeopardise their health to attain glory; what sports rely on what drugs to sustain performance or to build up the appropriate muscles; how certain drugs affect the athlete's body. He asks how such drugs are monitored, what masking agents are applied to hide their use and how monitoring systems stay ahead of new drug methods and practices.

The control of doping, ranging from the practicalities of monitoring and coverage of major events to the harmonisation of both practice and policy among the major world sports bodies, requires a re-evaluation of the direction of future anti-doping policy.

Council of Europe publications are available in the UK through The Stationery Office (Tel: +44-(0)171-873-8372).