Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (Such as Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports?

Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (Such as Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports?Proponents of accepting performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports argue that their harmful health effects have been overstated, that health risks are an athlete’s decision to make, that using drugs is part of the evolution of sports much like improved training techniques and new technologies, and that efforts to keep athletes from using PEDs are overzealous, unproductive, unfairly administered, and bound to fail. 

Opponents argue that PEDs are harmful and potentially fatal, and that athletes who use them are cheaters who gain an unfair advantage, violate the spirit of competition, and send the wrong message to children. They say PED users unfairly diminish the historic achievements of clean athletes, and that efforts to stop PED use in sports should remain strong.

Is the D.A.R.E. program good for America's kids (K-12)?

Is the D.A.R.E. program good for America's kids (K-12)? D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) administers a school-based substance abuse prevention program in 80% of US school districts and in 43 countries (as of 2008). As of 2009, the program had trained over 50,000 police officers to teach its program every year to 36 million K-12 students worldwide - 26 million in the US alone.

Supporters argue that D.A.R.E. has helped millions of kids find alternatives to drug abuse. They say that kids and parents like the program, and that it fosters valuable relationships between police, family, and schools.

Critics argue that scientific evidence shows no significant difference between future drug use in kids who have “graduated” from the costly D.A.R.E. program and those who have not. They say D.A.R.E. is misleading and can increase student drug use. Read more…

Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?

Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?The US and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal.  In the US, these ads are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that they are not false or misleading.

Many research organizations and pharmaceutical industry groups contend that the ads are educational, provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health, and help generate sales revenue necessary to offset high research and development costs.

Opponents counter that DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies. They say that the FDA does an inadequate job of making sure drug ads are not false or misleading. Read more…

Should performance enhancing drugs (such as steroids) be accepted in sports?

Should performance enhancing drugs (such as steroids) be accepted in sports?Proponents of accepting performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports argue that their harmful health effects have been overstated, that health risks are an athlete’s decision to make, that using drugs is part of the evolution of sports much like improved training techniques and new technologies, and that efforts to keep athletes from using PEDs are overzealous, unproductive, unfairly administered, and bound to fail. 

Opponents argue that PEDs are harmful and potentially fatal, and that athletes who use them are cheaters who gain an unfair advantage, violate the spirit of competition, and send the wrong message to children. They say PED users unfairly diminish the historic achievements of clean athletes, and that efforts to stop PED use in sports should remain strong.