![Three bowls of different colored and sized pills.](https://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/supplement-red-flag-3-post.jpg)
Clean Sport Red Flags #3: Thinking Supplements are as Safe as Medications
It’s important for athletes and their support personnel to understand that supplements and medications are very different in terms of regulation and safety.
It’s important for athletes and their support personnel to understand that supplements and medications are very different in terms of regulation and safety.
Athletes should always tell their treating physician that they are subject to anti-doping rules since compliance is ultimately the athlete’s responsibility. Due to these strict liability principles, athletes risk an anti-doping rule violation and sanction, including a possible period of ineligibility, even if they received poor guidance from their primary care providers.
A win-at-all costs attitude can be revealed through various behaviors and by various members of the sports community, from athletes, to coaches, to parents.
DISCLAIMER: This content is NOT being updated and is only current as of the publication date. Elite athletes must be very careful about the substances they use, including substances marketed as supplements or herbal products. The prohibited status of cannabidiol (CBD) is changing in 2018, but all other cannabinoids are still prohibited in-competition, including THC,
DCOs play a critical role in USADA’s effort to preserve the integrity of clean sport, but just as importantly, they help define the athlete experience in regards to anti-doping. As such, USADA DCOs are held to a particularly high standard, meaning athletes can expect the following qualities and behaviors.
The more athletes know, the better they can manage the risk of a positive test. Athletes should take the time to read through this short list highlighting just a few of the top 2018 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List changes and prohibited substances that impact athletes.
Even though the topics discussed at the 2017 Science Symposium were highly technical, there are some key takeaways for everyone impacted by anti-doping science and rules.
In 2018, the Prohibited List has a number of changes of which athletes and support personnel need to be aware. Read through the changes.
Under the World Anti-Doping Code, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) issues an annual List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, known as the Prohibited List, which is one of five International Standards. WADA reviews scientific and medical research, while also consulting with others in the anti-doping community, to make annual updates to the Prohibited List.
This is an necessary category.