Summary

Although media headlines associate the use of performance-enhancing drugs with high-profile professional athletes, this problem affects all segments of society. Scandals have publicized a problem that even extends to young boys and girls who attempt to mimic their athletic heroes or use drugs as a way to achieve what they believe is an athletic physique—often causing extensive damage to their physical and emotional health. Many amateur athletes and Olympians have also relied on illegal performance-enhancing drugs in the past, and now their careers are characterized by questions and controversy surrounding their personal or professional ethics.

Drugs and Sports provides an overview of the history of this topic, as well as the opinions surrounding it. From the performance-enhancement methods of the ancient Greeks to the recent accusations of drug use among high-profile professional athletes, this illuminating volume puts this timely issue in context. Contemporary case studies provide multiple perspectives and decisions surrounding this issue while also plotting a course for how drug use in sports will change with advances in technology. Drugs and Sports addresses all sides of this issue, making this the perfect reference for students, teachers, librarians, medical personnel, activists, policymakers, and general readers interested in this topic.

Coverage includes:

• Whether performance-enhancing drug use has become a problem comparable to that of well-known narcotics
• Whether or not teens are encouraged to use performance-enhancing drugs by professional athletes
• The role of sports leagues and the government in controlling these substances
• The case against performance-enhancing drugs and whether it has been grossly overstated.

Specifications

Index. Appendixes. Bibliography. Glossary. Chronology.

About the Author(s)

Fred C. Pampel holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is currently a professor at the University of Colorado and has also taught at the University of North Carolina, the University of Iowa, and Florida State University. Pampel specializes in research on fertility, mortality, smoking, and social inequality, and he has received 15 grants to date for in-depth studies of these topics. He is the author of five books, including Tobacco Industry and Smoking, Racial Profiling, and Threats to Food Safety, all from Facts On File’s Library in a Book series. Pampel is also author or coauthor of more than 45 articles. He is a member of the American Sociological Association, the Population Association of America, and the Southern Sociological Society.