Kohli 1

Devyani Kohli
Professor Jackie
English 115, M/W 11:00-12:15
12 November 2014
If Steroids Are Illegal, Performance Enhancements Should Be Illegal As Well
Sports are presenting your skills and talent in a game one loves. However, cheating has
played an important role in the game. Many athletes find that practice is not the only way for
one to exceed. They find ways such as steroids to enhance their performance in the game. Since
it is illegal to use steroids, many athletes have found alternatives, such as performance
enhancement drugs and techniques to improve their performance. Examples of performance
enhancement substances are codeine or testosterone, and techniques can be altitude chambers or
surgeries. However, these substances and techniques still help an athlete outside the context of
practicing. It discourages the moral of sports and ethics in society. Performance enhancements
should be illegal in sport settings as their acceptance will not reduce the amount of substances
used by athletes, they will not equal the level of playing field, and they are unethical and hold no
morals in sport settings.
The use of performance enhancement substances, such as blood doping, will not subside
after it is legalized, but only increase cost. Blood doping is increasing the number of red blood
cells to enhance an athletes performance (Wiesing, para 2). In order to legalize performance
enhancement substances, the government would have to enforce which athletes may be eligible
for blood doping. Athletes who are not eligible for intake of performance enhancements could
find other ways to receive dosages. Director of the Institute of Ethics and History of Medicine at
the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, Urban Wiesing states that athletes who were willing

Kohli 2
to take risks would search for the most helpful doctor (para 4). Not only would athletes find
doctors, but also find illegal sellers to sell them performance enhancements. The government
would also have to ensure safety of these substances. This would require internationally
coordinated, costly and complicated regulations that would require considerable effort and result
in extensive controls (Wiesing, para 5). Performance enhancements come with side effects,
such as increase risk of strokes, thicker blood viscosity, hair growth, and hormonal changes.
However, allowing drugs to reduce those side effects would have to be permissible, therefore
introducing more control laws. Another reason why performance enhancement substances will
not subside and only increase cost is due to finding verification of different substances. Different
methods of performance enhancement substances are created rapidly. Wiesing emphasizes that
In most cases, a certain amount of time elapses before new doping practices can be identified
and verified (para 9). Athletes would be able to find new methods and use these methods until
doping control officers are able to identify it. When athletes would go for drug tests, these
substances would not be identified. Athletes would still be cheating the system if performance
enhancement substances were legalized. Making performance enhancement substances illegal
will not only help reduce the cost and ban the use of substances, but also equal the playing field.
Legalizing performance enhancement substances will not level the playing field. Injustice
in sports is already occurring. Many believe athletes are selected based on genetic lottery. For
example, there are stereotypes believing that many Africans are good runners. Professor Julian
Savulescu at Oxford University argues that legalizing performance enhancement substances
would help level the playing field. Many more athletes of different races would be allowed to
perform as well as the runners from Africa (para 17). Legalizing performance enhancement
substances will not reduce the genetic lottery. It will cause another lottery of different reactions

Kohli 3
towards performance enhancement substances. Replacing the genetic lottery with another will
only cause more inequality. Wiesing proves that this will not level the playing field. He explains
how All athletes respond to the approved doping measures in the same way and their
performance improves in the same way (para 18). There would be no benefit in having a
competition if all athletes give the same result. Athletes would struggle being number one as all
athletes are breaking the same records. It would affect the mindset of athletes. Knowing that
their performance enhancement substances are not giving their end result will only have them
acquire more of this drug. It will increase the risk of strokes and cardiac arrest, due to the
amount of drugs and mental pressure being added into their system. Also the athletes who are
not taking performance enhancements substances or are not eligible for these drugs would have
the hardest times striving to be number one. Generations of record breaking due to practices
would hold no value any more. Records that would be set would not be obtained through practice
and skills, but more due to the amount of performance enhancement an athlete took. Making
performance enhancement substances legal will not justify the inequality in sports. It will only
cause more substances to be taken and the government would pay more money to control those
issues. Not only would this be an issue, but it is also unethical and holds no morals in sport
settings.
Legalizing performance enhancement substances will make the sport setting unethical.
Wiesing describes sports as being an artificial setting, created by human beings, in which the
competitor is required to perform, at least according to current, widely prevalent belief, with a
degree of 'naturalness (para 28). Fans and sport watchers watch sports to see an athletes athletic
performance. The fascination of sports comes from athletes proving their skills through practice,
hard work, discipline, and natural talents. Athletes are shown as role models for children.

Kohli 4
Wiesing states that, Sports are a model for most citizens (para 35). If performance
enhancement substances were made legal, many athletes would continue to violate the laws to
find ways to seek this substance. They would not be respecting the standards. The model
standard of working hard and practicing would be abolished with the use of performance
enhancements being a booster to success. Everyone is taught that cheating is bad. The uses of
performance enhancement techniques and drugs are assisting players to better levels. Players
stop practicing as they know that performance enhancements will take the place of it. It is
unethical as it is promoting cheating in a game context where talent is shown to its greatest level.
It reduces the ethics and rules set by the game before steroids and performance enhancements
came into play. With the increase in performance enhancement techniques, rules will have to be
changed. Children and adolescents would increase their intake as they would view it as the only
way to reach the pros. The ethics in sports, such as friendly competition or practice makes
perfect, would diminish if this were legalized; however many find this ethical as they want
performance enhancements to be legal.
Many people and athletes argue that performance enhancement substances should be
legalized. Authors such as Professor Julian Savulescu and Bennett Foddy believe that cleaning
up drug use in sports is unattainable. People should not waste their time fighting for a cause that
will not subside. They believe that making performance enhancement substances legal will
reduce the amount of cheating in sports. If performance enhancement substances are illegalized
In a few years, there will be many undetectable drugs (Savulescu, para 10). They argue that
legalizing performance enhancements will help reduce the production and usage of performance
enhancements. However, reducing these performance substances to only medical purposes will
increase the productivity of substances made by illegal sellers. Making performance

Kohli 5
enhancement illegal will help the government focus on the underground production of
performance enhancements and not have to worry about the cheating that will be used in sport
teams and medical facilities. Savulescu also argues that performance enhancements should be
legal as they are not a health risk. Rather than athletes paying a lot to do altitude training in the
mountains, they should be able to use hyperbaric chambers, surgeries, such as Lasik eye surgery,
and B blockers, under limited use, to help them perform activities. However, these are
substances and techniques that are associated with cheating. Practicing in a high altitude climate
helps a person, but they are physically performing that exercise to get better. Hyperbaric
chambers and B blockers may reduce the cost, however will increase health risks. Athletes are
not performing any physical practice when using hyperbaric chambers or taking B blockers.
Premature ventricular contractions happen when the blood supply reaches above .5; however
Savulescu states that, elite athletes are more likely to exceed 0.5, either because their high
packed cell volume has led them to success in sport or because of their training (para 27). If
PVC gets above 50%, the risk of strokes and cardio myopathy can occur. When an athlete
exercises, dehydration occurs. This causes blood to thicken, raising pressure and blood
viscosity. The risk for a stroke or heart attack will rise quickly as an athlete is only practicing.
Therefore, eliminating the use of performance enhancement substances will help reduce the
health risk of an athlete.
Performance enhancement substances should not be legal. Legalizing performance
enhancement substances will cause many athletes to find other ways to use these drugs. Genetic
lottery is a natural occurrence in sport settings and cannot be changed with biological
advancement. It will only cause less competition and increase in health risks. People will see
the lack of skills and practice an athlete does to achieve as substances will lead them to success.

Kohli 6
There will be no sport models for children and no excitement in watching an athletes talent.
Performance enhancements should be made illegal as it will reduce the health risks, inequality,
and increase morals and ethics in sports settings.

Kohli 7
Works Cited
Savulescu, J, B Foddy, and M Clayton. "Why We Should Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs
in Sport." British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38.6 (2004): 666-670.
Wiesing, Urban. "Should Performance-enhancing Drugs in Sport Be Legalized Under Medical
Supervision?" Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 41.2 (2011): 167-176.