Should Athletes Use Performance Enhancing Drugs Help Push Themselves Farther Than Their Natural Limits?

According to Brower, withdrawal symptoms might be developed in the individuals who stop taking anabolic steroids after they have taken excessive amount of anabolic steroids over sustained period. The symptoms included mood swings, insomnia, depressed mood, reduced libido, anorexia, weight loss, and even suicidal thoughts. Despite of these behavioral changes, others common adverse effects of anabolic steroids are liver failure, endocrine dysfunction, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, and difficulties in blood clotting. For men, they may experience gynecomastia (breast development and enlargement), reduced fertility, shrunken testes, decreasing in sperm amount, decreased production of testosterone, development of prostate cancer due to the enlargement of the gland, and baldness, and masculinization in women and children. In women, excessive anabolic steroids will lead to breast reduction, swollen clitoris, masculinization, deepen voice, growth of body and facial hair, menstrual disruption and also increased risk of birth defects.

In every sport, there has always been a desire to win. Some athletes will do anything to make winning possible. Every elite athlete wants to be better than their opponent. Some rely on performance enhancing drugs, also known as PED’s, to improve their game. This topic is very important because it can be the difference between winning and losing. Winning can mean money, fame and a place in history. I believe athletes should not use PED’s in sports because it is an unfair advantage, health risk, bad role modeling, bad sportsmanship, and results in tainted records and awards.

Sub-point B: According to an article on the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a website filled with information on drugs, last updated on March 2016, steroids are used as treatment for diseases that cause muscle loss, such as cancer and AIDS. They are also prescribed by healthcare providers to treat hormonal issues, such as delayed puberty. “But some athletes and bodybuilders abuse these drugs to boost performance or improve their physical appearance.”

D. Common side effects for woman and men as stated in the article Health Effects of Steroids “ For both sexes…Kidney stress/damage, High blood pressure, Hair loss, Cardiovascular diseases, Acne, Enlarged heart, and Tendon & ligament injuries.”

“Why it’s time to legalize steroids in professional sports” written by Chris Smith of Forbes Magazine argues that to level the playing field of professional sports it would be beneficial to legalize the use of performance enhancing drugs. Mr. Smith’s ideals that professional sports would be a fairer, more entertaining version of itself if performance enhancing drugs were legal, is an incredibly irresponsible and impudent declaration.

In all areas of sports, professional, college, and even high school, there is widespread illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. It seems like you can’t go more than a week without hearing about somebody’s PED problems. Although there are many reasons for athletes to choose to use these drugs, the cost of such use, both to the athlete and to society can be extraordinarily high. The question that many people must answer to themselves is “is it worth the risk”. Therefore, it is important to understand why performance-enhancing drugs are used, the consequences of their use, and then apply that knowledge to how they are represented in the media.

Knowing wrong from right seems to be a harder and harder concept for people to grasp. As the American culture wanders farther and farther from a Christian Worldview, so it seems America loses its grip on morals and ethics. In this paper, there will be an exploration of ethics in regards to performance enhancing drug use in athletes. Performance enhancing drugs should continue to be banned due to health risk factors, the element of cheating and abuse of the athlete 's body.

PEDs also help with the recovery of soreness and muscle fatigue from training, this allows athletes who use these to spend more time training allowing them become stronger and better than the competition. Another way it gives users an edge over competition is it increases the stamina and speed of the athlete within a few days as to a “clean athlete” who has to train and condition for the results. PEDs assist with the gaining of muscle mass and strength as well as weight loss. This could be an unfair advantage because PEDs can make a user lose weight in a short period of time to fit into a lower weight class for competition. Another advantage is it gives users a noticeable increase in mass and strength in a short period of time.

Steroids are hormones that have long lasting side effects on our bodies. Steroids increase cholesterol, blood clots and strokes. Steroids can also cause baldness, and the shrinking of testicles. There have also been cases where steroids have taken the lives of athletes through suicide.

     Lastly, although steroids have enhanced athletic performance unjustly, the adverse side effects can jeopardize your health. Steroids can cause serious health problems. Many changes take place inside the body and may not be noticed until it is too late. Some of the effects will go away when steroid use stops, but some may not. Many may not truly know what the side effects of steroids are. In one human study by Sara Farrell of the American Psychological Association, male adolescent steroid abusers who were currently on a use cycle had

Transition of body of speech: First of all, to understand why you should stay away from steroids you must know what steroids can do to your body. Main Point #1: Steroids are harmful because it can cause liver damage, premature heart attack, strokes, and psychological problems such as mood swings, depression, and increase in short temper, and even sudden death. (DeNoon, 2005, pg.1-2). Centers for disease control states that three Americans per year are in the emergency room due to overtake of steroids. The main steroid that causes this is the anabolic steroid.

A Pharmacologist named James Tolliver said in an article about steroid abuse “it is speculated that possible long-term effects may include adverse cardiovascular effects such as heart damage and stroke” (Tolliver). He explains some of the ways steroids can hurt you for the rest of your life. I do not believe that anyone in the world would want heart damage to be an effect from their own foolish mistakes that they made when they were younger. Another example of how doping is dangerous is “Since steroids are often taken by injections, there is also the risk of getting HIV or hepatitis infection from an unsterile needle or syringe” (DeNoon). Drugs can ruin your life. They have effects that can cause relationships to crumble, careers to fail, and your good reputation to go in the trash. These are only some of the ways drugs can harm to the user. Physically, and

In the present day sports have become more competitive than they used to be. With money and fame at stake many lean towards the use of PEDs to support their career. PEDs also known as performance enhancing drugs which are defined as “any substance taken by an athlete to improve their performance”(DrugFreeSports). The enhancers are broken down into well know categories such as “anabolic steroids, androstenedione, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine and stimulants”(Mayo Clinic Staff 2). All these enhancers come with a backlash of negative effects. The use of PEDs are an issue that has been going on for some time now which can negatively affect the team. However, the strain is more on the player who uses it. In result of this issue it produces a tension in sportsmanship. Enhancers are a matter that concerns the players mental and physical state. Overall it also can determine the

‘Olympic track star Marion Jones was sentenced in a federal court to six months in prison.’ (Kelly and Rao, 2008) The reason why Jones was guilty is because of the use of performance enhancing drugs since 1999. More and more famous athletes prove to have used banned drugs to enhance their performance. At the same time, the role that the anti-doping agency is more and more important in the world wide games, such as Olympic Game, Tour de France. Nowadays, whether the performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) should be legalized has sparked a heated debate. However, the use of PEDs is morally wrong and it should be banned in sports. This essay will demonstrate three main points which explain the

However, steroids should remain illegal because they physically deteriorate the whole body system. When injected one risks the chances of developing hematoma and contracting AIDS. In women steroids contribute to the growth of facial hair, enlargements of the clitoris, shrinkage of the uterus, sterility, deepening of the voice, decrease in breast size and irregularity of the menstrual cycle. In men steroids cause shrinkage of the testicles, decrease in sperm count, sterility, impotence, prostate enlargement and growth of female breast. In both men and women hair loss, liver ailments, acne, atherosierosis and cancer are very common. This dangerous drug shortens the life span up to twenty years and increases the chance of obtaining diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. The side effects and reactions from enduring anabolic steroids are endless.