Drugs in Archery

[ASW1973]

i am sure that the link is fine that has been given but the definitive list advised to all uk athletes is at uk sport link

[addo]

Concerning codeine

Basically,anything derived from the opium poppy is illegal i.e.opium,codeine,diamorphine(heroin)

As regard to codeine in painkillers,if last dose of medication is taked 72 hours before test it should be ok.I was told by a couple of chemists that because you take these sort of tablets up to 4 times a day,it stands to reason that the drugs contained in them dont stay in the system long,otherwise you wouldnt have to take so many.

Thanks for all replies concerning codeine

[Little Miss Purple]

If you are on medication to live does it really matter if they are banned? which would you rather have? An international archery career (if you can live without your meds)... or a healthy national archery career (on your meds)

[clickerati]

i'm on a couple of banned meds and i'm not giving them up. might as well quit archery and everything if i do, cause i'd be one ill puppy.

[Deadeye Doc]

Okay, we're back to codeine. In a book, published by FITA and edited by two members of the FITA Medical Committee, and published in 2004, entitled Sports Medicine and Science in Archery on page 132 the following appears.

"Morphine is a natural ingredient of opium. After processing, morphine can be converted to heroin, a highly addictive substance and a leading drug of abuse. Narcotics are widely used as analgesics (painkillers). All potent narcotics are prohibited (see FITA C. & R., book 1, appendix 5). Several we can narcotics are permitted including codeine, detropropoxaphene, pholcodine and tramadol. Those drugs are much less par for the morphine and rarely lead to addiction. The most serious side-effects of powerful narcotics are due to physical dependence and the development of withdrawal symptoms. Heroin is the most addictive and codeine the least harmful narcotic"

I think that this says most of what is needed to be said about codeine. It also mentions pholcodine, which is a cough suppressant.

With all this discussion of drugs in sport I think it is worthwhile going back to thinking about why drugs are banned in sport. It is principally to stop cheating. People who take drugs to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents need to be caught. As has been mentioned in this thread is very unlikely that anyone will get drug tested except at high-level tournaments, and even then probably only the top three.

If the medication is being taken for medical purposes, for example for asthma, then there is a good reason for the person to continue taking this medication for his/her own health. Given that this is so the justification for the presence of, for example, steroids present in urine is obvious.

Further on in the article by Emin Ergen and Karol Hibner, the latter of whom is the chairman of the FITA Medical Committee, the following occurs.

"THERAPEUTIC USE OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES.
In 1992 the IOC established criteria for an athlete to be granted permission to use a prohibited substance and compete.
The exemptions offer the following cases:
... the athlete would experience significant impairment of health if the prohibited medication was withheld.
... no enhancement of performance could result from the administration of prohibited substance as medically prescribed.
... the athlete would not be denied the prohibited substance if she or he was not a competing athlete.
... no available permitted and practical alternative medication can be submitted for the prohibited substance.
... Post competition (retrospective) permission will not be granted."

They go on to discuss the guidelines for the use of Therapeutic Use Exemption.

It occurs to me that the forthcoming European Masters Games in Malmö, Sweden, to which I shall be going will be riddled with drug use in all probability. In order to qualify for the games you have to be over the age of 40. There is a category above the age of 50 in which I shall be competing. Although in order to be competing the larger part of the competitors will be quite fit by comparison with many of their contemporaries, there will still be those with hypertension, cardiac problems, respiratory problems, arthritis, and so on. I have no idea whether there will be an intensive drug screening problem whilst I am there. If you read the above few paragraphs it should be clear that if you can justify the use of the medication prescribed to you by a medical practitioner, there should be no problem.

Should you really be that worried ASW1973 is quite correct, Sport UK has a list on its site but the link I gave earlier in this discussion to WADA has the definitive worldwide version.
Here it is Again. World Anti-Doping Agency

Murray, beta-blockers have the effect of preventing your heart rate rising as it would normally during exercise. They may not change your resting heart rate, and for an asthmatic to take beta-blockers could be risky, as they are known to precipitate, in some people (this is always important to note -- some people) they can precipitate an asthma attack. I should also point out that far too often COPD is incorrectly diagnosed as asthma, the latter having a large reversible component in terms of lung function. Inhalers are used in both conditions.

As Little Miss Purple has suggested, failing to take medication prescribed for long-term conditions can result in problems. It's probably only the stupid things like Xylometazoline in nasal sprays taken for colds that can get you into trouble with the drug testing authorities. I believe that last year a skier was tested and found to have something of this sort 'on board' and had not realised what was in the self-medication. What Fur Face has said is also correct. You are responsible for what you are taking.

[ASW1973]

If you take any drug on the banned list and "risk" it when you sign the drug testing slip on all fita star forms then you are breaking the rules and stand the chance of a long-life ban. Very few drugs have TUE issues they are generally pain killers and beta blockers. Anti depressants are generally granted TUE's.

So the take home message for those that read this forum and actually take advice of it: "If you enter a competition which requires a drug testing waiver and you fail a drug test, you will be banned and branded a cheat"

[clickerati]

Originally Posted by Deadeye Doc

It's probably only the stupid things like Xylometazoline in nasal sprays taken for colds that can get you into trouble with the drug testing authorities.

Not that anyone will drug test me, but I've been using a nasal spray for my current cold that contains that stuff. I had no idea

[Little Miss Purple]

Originally Posted by ASW1973

If you take any drug on the banned list and "risk" it when you sign the drug testing slip on all fita star forms then you are breaking the rules and stand the chance of a long-life ban. Very few drugs have TUE issues they are generally pain killers and beta blockers. Anti depressants are generally granted TUE's.

So the take home message for those that read this forum and actually take advice of it: "If you enter a competition which requires a drug testing waiver and you fail a drug test, you will be banned and branded a cheat"

pmsl.... its not like we have any cheats in archery now is it!!!!

[Deadeye Doc]

Originally Posted by WhitehartFB

Prompted by this thread I thought I had better check out my hayfever tablets
and found this summary which was very usefull as it lists all the common banned substances and those that are permitted.

I misread it at first missed the bit about permitted on page 2 and was all set to sort out a TUE

http://www.usantidoping.org/files/ac...allet_card.pdf

It's interesting to note that an Epi-Pen is mentioned.

In the UK - I don't know about the USA - these are only prescription only meds. Just what is meant by an "Emergency TUE" I have no idea! This is a life saving medication for individuals with acute hypersensitivities (anaphylaxis) to, for example, wasp stings. How one would not know about this in advance (should it happen at the competition for the first time, then the first-aider would be at a distinct disadvantage as Epi-Pens are not usually included in a first aid kit) beats me! The individual ought to be carrying the prescribed Epi-Pen for use in sch an emergency. Spending a day out shooting does suggest that there might possibly be flying biting insects about.

As I mentioned before, many "allergic" responses are intermittent, but asthmatics, as an example, often carry their medication for occasional use. Likewise, those with acute hypersensitivities ought to carry their Epi-Pen.

Just how capable an individual who required to use the Epi-Pen would be after using the Adrenaline of shooting a competitive score is open to debate. At least they would be alive.

[Deadeye Doc]

Originally Posted by clickerati

Not that anyone will drug test me, but I've been using a nasal spray for my current cold that contains that stuff. I had no idea

Interesting: I just reviewed the WADA 2008 list and the following is now the ruling

* The following substances included in the 2008 Monitoring Program (bupropion, caffeine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradol, pseudoephedrine, synephrine) are not considered as Prohibited Substances.
** Adrenaline associated with local anaesthetic agents or by local administration (e.g. nasal, ophthalmologic) is not prohibited.

I'm not sure if this takes xylometazoline (Otrivine is one of the over-the-counter self meds containing this adrenergic chemical) out of the equation. Sudafed contains pseudoephedrine.

There's a catch-all tag at the end of the "stimulant" section

"A stimulant not expressly mentioned as an example under this section should be considered as a Specified Substance only if the Athlete can establish that the substance is particularly susceptible to unintentional anti-doping rule violations because of its general availability in medicinal products or is less likely to be successfully abused as a doping agent."