An Introduction to Drugs in Sport

Why do many athletes risk their careers by taking performance enhancing drugs? Do the highly competitive pressures of elite sports teach athletes to win at any cost? An Introduction to Drugs in Sport provides a detailed and systematic examination of the extent of drug use in sport and attempts to explain why athletes have, over the last four decades, increasingly used performance-enhancing drugs. It offers a critical overview of the major theories of drug use in sport, and provides a detailed analysis of the involvement of sports physicians in the development and use of performance-enhancing drugs.Focusing on the use of drugs within elite sport, the book introduces the key terms and concepts that define the study of drugs in sport and offers an in-depth examination of important contemporary themes and issues including: The history of drugs in sport and changing patterns of use Fair play, cheating and the 'spirit of sport' WADA and anti-doping policy Case studies of drug use in professional football and cycling Sociological enquiry and the problems of researching drugs in sport The future of anti-doping Designed to help students explore and understand this problematic area of research in sport studies, and richly illustrated throughout with case studies and empirical data, An Introduction to Drugs in Sport is an invaluable addition to the literature. It is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the relationship between drugs, sport and society.