The Australian Olympic Committee apparently wants caffeine to be added to the list of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). John Coates, the president of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has gone public demonizing caffeine as a drug responsible for forcing athletes to use addictive sleeping pills and sedatives.
Coates suggested that caffeine may have played a role in the apparent widespread use of the Stilnox by swimmers on Australia’s Olympic team during the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. Stilnox is the tradename for zolpidem. Zolpidem is a sleeping pill that is prescribed as a treatment for insomnia.
“We are very worried about the vicious cycle of athletes taking caffeine as a performance enhancer and then needing to take drugs, such as Stilnox, to get to sleep,” said Coates. “The bigger question of whether WADA should prohibit it again is something for WADA.”
The Australian Olympic Committee and Swimming Australia have recently moved to ban Stilnox in response to allegations by disgraced former swimming great Grant Hackett. Hackett claimed to have become addicted to the “evil” Stilnox after it was prescribed by a team doctor at the 2003 World Championships. Jeni Saunders, the former doctor for Swimming Australia during that period, has denied the allegation.
Hackett set numerous world records in the sport on his way to becoming a multiple gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Alan Thompson, the former head coach of the Australian Olympic Team, supported Hackett’s story of widespread Stilnox use by teammates. Michael Klim, former Australian Olympic champion, and Ashley Callus, a friend and teammate of Hackett, corroborated the claim that team doctors regularly handed out Stilnox.
Stilnox was never on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list of drugs. Its use would not have been the basis for a positive drug test and/or disqualification of any Australian swimmers who used it during previous Olympics.
Caffeine was previously banned by WADA as a prohibited performance-enhancing drug. However, caffeine became legal for athletes to use once again in 2004 due to its widespread use in society.
WADA president John Fahey defended its exclusion from the WADA code based on its ubiquity in society and use in coffee by individuals around the world. He stated that WADA has no plans to re-introduced caffeine to the prohibited substances list.
Even though caffeine is well-established as a performance-enhancing agent by most experts, Fahey denied there is any such evidence and even suggested caffeine may have detrimental effects on performance.
“It has been kept under watch but there is no medical evidence or scientific evidence that would allow it to be gauged as being beneficial or otherwise,” said Fahey. “For example, I am told if you take a certain amount of caffeine it will give you some sort of a lift, but if you take too much you in fact can go backwards.”
Photo credit: Sarah Ewart / Wikipedia
Source:
Breen, N. (July 1, 2012). Grant Hackett admits to popping ‘evil’ Stilnox. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/grant-hackett-admits-to-popping-evil-stilnox-sleeping-pills/story-fn7x8me2-1226413249968
