Looks like WADA wants in on the act.

[Puffadder]

Sports - CBSSports.com Sports News, Fantasy Scores, Sports Video

The World Anti Doping Agency is considering adding nicotine to its list of Performance Enhancing Drugs.

 

[Vocalek]

So what happens after the athlete gives up the nicotine, finds his cognitive skills are so impaired that he goes to the doctor, and is prescribed Ritilin or Adderall for his physical disability? Are those drugs, even if prescribed by a doctor, verbotten as well? If so, then we have a case of discrimination based on a disability.

 

[Jimi D.]

vaping makes me run faster....lol

 

[rothenbj]

"alarming evidence" . Boy that sounds like ANTZspeak.

"The performance-enhancing effects of nicotine included increased "vigilance and cognitive function," and reduced stress and body weight."

So if you don't use nicotine, you a fat, stressed out, cognitively impaired slacker. Darn that sounds a lot like an ANTZ.

""Smokeless tobacco is a very attractive drug from a doping perspective," researchers suggested, because it did not damage an athlete's breathing and respiratory system."

Hey, aren't they admitting that smokeless alternatives give you an advantage over both smokers and non-smokers alike. For a product with very little downside and such improvements in performance maybe they should ban it for competitive sports but promote it for overall well being.

In all honesty, this appears to me more eugenic driven drivel.

 

[rothenbj]

Oh h##l, I hope the Phillies don't get banned from playing in the Playoffs. They were smoking nicotine products in the clubhouse in Philadelphia no less. Not only are they "doping", but Philly has an indoor smoking ban! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!

 

[Vocalek]

WADA buncha idiots!

 

[rbuck9]

WADA buncha idiots!

haha lol i love that

 

[Puffadder]

My favorite part was where they say how 15% of athletes questioned use nicotine compared to 25% of the general public was conclusive that they are using to enhance performance.

Shouldn't MORE athletes be using than the gp if that were the case?

 

[RIMP]

Are they gonna ban caffinated soft drinks as well

 

[Vocalek]

Just stumbled across this report of nicotine use (smokeless) among ice hockey players: Determination of nicotine and nicotine metabo... [J Chromatogr A. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

Abstract

Consumption of nicotine in the form of smokeless tobacco (snus, snuff, chewing tobacco) or nicotine-containing medication (gum, patch) may benefit sport practice. Indeed, use of snus seems to be a growing trend and investigating nicotine consumption amongst professional athletes is of major interest to sport authorities.

 

[Bill Godshall]

I can't think of a more effective way to encourage teens (especially teen athletes) to begin using tobacco products than for the WADA to rule that nicotine is a performance enhancing drug.

 

[rothenbj]

Wait till they start testing red bull.

 

[Tom09]

Could not open link in OP, but here is an alternative link to CBSSports.com: WADA considers suggestion to add nicotine to banned list

This CBS report refers to following original publication by authors affiliated to the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses: Marclay F, Grata E, Perrenoud L, Saugy M.: A one-year monitoring of nicotine use in sport: Frontier between potential performance enhancement and addiction issues. Forensic Sci Int. 2011 Jun 29. [Epub ahead of print]

The fascinating conclusion section of the Marclay et al. 2011 article:

As a response to smoking prohibition policies flourishing throughout the world, the tobacco industry initiated a strong marketing process of various smokeless products, in particular snus. With progression of consumption in society, smokeless tobacco is drawing attention in the sport community due to performance enhancement pharmacological properties of nicotine free of smoke-related detrimental effects on the respiratory tract. However, despite the so-claimed reduced health risk, such products induce persistent addiction issues and may be responsible for a vast panel of diseases, including different types of cancers.[...]
[A method for detection and quantification of nicotine and metabolites was developped and] prevalence of nicotine consumption amongst athletes during a one-year monitoring study between 2010 and 2011, accounting for 2185 urine specimens of 43 different sports, was investigated with this analytical procedure. [...] Eventually, prevalence of nicotine consumption, as a smoke or smokeless tobacco product, before or/and during sport practice revealed that about [15%] were active users.
As a first approach, this number may appear lower than the worldwide smoking prevalence of around 25%. However, focusing the study on a panel of selected sports brought alarming evidence on comparable, if not far superior, nicotine consumption amongst athletes. [...; my edit to add authors’ tabulated prevalence data: American football 55.6%, Basketball 25.0%, Biathlon 18.4%, Bobsleigh 30.8%, Football 19.0%, Gymnastics 29.2%, Ice hockey 32.4%, Rugby 28.0%, Skating 19.5%, Skiing 25.9%, Volleyball 19.6%, Wrestling 32.3%; note that authors disclose only this selected list out of 43 disciplines analyzed]
Therefore, WADA and sport federations should evaluate the inclusion of nicotine to the Prohibited List or/and Monitoring Program in order to bring not only control on a doping agent, but also an innovative and key element to developing a more preventive approach of fight against doping. Indeed, an interesting step towards limitation and education on a global public health threat responsible for an extremely harmful burden of disease could be initiated.

Framing the conclusion according to ANTZ’ polemic cook book and has nothing do with the doping topic. So ‘alarming evidence’ is the finding that athletes performing at levels where they are subjected to regular doping controls use nicotine products at or around the worldwide smoking prevalence rate (with notable exception of the American football players). Since smoking impairs athletes' performance, it's essentially consumption of smokeless nicotine products. If the worldwide 25% smokers would switch to smokeless nicotine products they would perform like non-nicotine users? Not really a scary finding.

 

[Vocalek]

And with this statement....

such products induce persistent addiction issues and may be responsible for a vast panel of diseases, including different types of cancers.[...]

...they demonstrate that they have not kept up with the most recent research that shows no increased risk of cancers from modern smokeless tobacco products manufactured in the West and in Sweden.

Laytragoon-Lewin N, Bahram F, Rutqvist LE, Turesson I, Lewin F. Direct effects of pure nicotine, cigarette smoke extract, Swedish-type smokeless tobacco (Snus) extract and ethanol on human normal endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Anticancer Res. 2011 May;31(5):1527-34.

RESULTS: In the presence and absence of ethanol, pure nicotine and Snus extract induced abnormalities in the cytoplasm without any significant degree of cell death. With similar doses of nicotine and ethanol, the additional components in smoke extract had a dominant effect. The smoke extract induced vast cellular abnormalities and massive cell death.

Lee PN. Summary of the epidemiological evidence relating snus to health. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2011 Mar;59(2):197-214. Epub 2010 Dec 14.

After smoking adjustment, snus is unassociated with cancer of the oropharynx (meta-analysis RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.68-1.37), oesophagus (1.10, 0.92-1.33), stomach (0.98, 0.82-1.17), pancreas (1.20, 0.66-2.20), lung (0.71, 0.66-0.76) or other sites, or with heart disease (1.01, 0.91-1.12) or stroke (1.05, 0.95-1.15). No clear associations are evident in never smokers, any possible risk from snus being much less than from smoking. "Snuff-dipper's lesion" does not predict oral cancer. Snus users have increased weight, but diabetes and chronic hypertension seem unaffected. Notwithstanding unconfirmed reports of associations with reduced birthweight, and some other conditions, the evidence provides scant support for any major adverse health effect of snus.

NOTE: The available evidence does seem to point to risk of oral cancers among those using smokeless tobacco products manufactured in India and Pakistan.

 

[Puffadder]

While 2145 athletes overall is not an unreasonable sample size, when spread over 43 sports (assuming even distribution) works out to about 51 athletes per sport which is far too low of a sample size to draw any conclusions from a % use in any particular sport.

 

[GIMike]

So while the atheltes are probably using it more as stress relief so they don't knock each others brains out over some sort of foul, they're goign to take it away. First they took away smoking from them. Then they took away chew (think baseball pitcher with a wad in his lip, spitting before he pitches), now they're just going to ban it all together? I think if I was a baseball pitcher who had to think that every time he threw a pitch, it had the potential of flying right back at him to possibly crush his skull, and I wasn't allowed nicotine to calm my nerves, I'd quit in a nicotine-enhanced-heartbeat.....

 

[Vagablonde]

just shakes my head

 

[emus]

I can't think of a more effective way to encourage teens (especially teen athletes) to begin using tobacco products than for the WADA to rule that nicotine is a performance enhancing drug.

Well said

 

[GIMike]

Don't forget that they now have caffiene additives for our e-liquids. The way teens love mountain dew and other high caffiene products, I'm sure this will make them get addicted too.

 

[Bill Godshall]

One week after doubling blood tests for drugs in athletes
WADA directs anti-doping organisations to more than double blood tests | The Australian, World Anti-Doping Agency wisely chooses to NOT ban nicotine from sports (whose mandatory testing would destroy many athletic careers including unsuspecting non tobacco users who obtain nicotine from drinking tea, eating eggplant/tomato/potato/green pepper, being exposed to secondhand smoke and/or using NRT products), places nicotine on WADA's 2012 monitoring program to purportedly "detect potential patterns of abuse" despite no evidence that nicotine enhances athletic performance.
WADA publishes 2012 Prohibited List - World Anti-Doping Agency
The Associated Press: No change in WADA rules on clenbuterol