Caffeine, sleeping tablets are still drugs
Roar Guru By apaway, 13 Jul 2010 apaway is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- AFL, Ben Cousins, Richmond Tigers, West Coast Eagles
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Ben Cousins of Richmond looks on during the AFL Round 01 match between the Richmond Tigers and the Carlton Blues at the MCG, Melbourne. Slattery Images
I wanted to let the hysteria over Ben Cousins’ hospitalisation die down before writing this article. The subject of “legal” drugs in elite sport is tricky, mainly because there is no accurate way of telling how widespread use is, and just what is being used to give players an advantage.
Cousins got into difficulties following a pre- and post-match routine which allegedly included “No Doze” caffeine pills, red wine and sleeping tablets.
Some medical professionals indicated that the combination of caffeine and sleeping tablets (stimulants followed by depressives) has the potential to be a major health concern, heightening the chances of irregular heartbeat and strokes.
A club official from Richmond Tigers maintained the use of such drugs was common in the AFL.
My first question is why?
Why does an elite fitness sportsperson playing in a team game (not necessarily just AFL players) need caffeine in doses such as those supplied by “No Doze” tablets? And if it does provide a competitive advantage, why aren’t all players taking them?
They’re legal, after all.
The answer is less simple, and I would assume that certain positions in certain team sports would benefit more than others if the drug involved was supposed to provide greater endurance and longer lasting energy (which is beginning to sound like a sports drink commercial). But big doses of caffeine can have a “peak and trough” effect which would inhibit a player’s performance if they hit the “trough” too soon.
Caffeine accelerates the heart rate and this can lead to shortness of breath and that twitchy or shaky feeling which can in turn lead to a decline in coordination.
It is also a diuretic so dehydration becomes a real issue, especially in sports where players cover large distances during a game (on ballers in AFL, midfielders in football, back rowers or scrum halves in the rugby codes).
Caffeine is addictive. Those who enjoy a daily cup of coffee realise this if they are forced to go without for a few days.
I don’t know if taking it in large doses can lead to a greater or more rapid addiction, but I shake my head in amazement when I hear that players have to take sleeping tablets to “come down”, after a game, especially if they’ve taken caffeine to “get up” for it in the first place.
This is playing with the body’s internal mechanisms to an extent that surely cannot be justified by sporting administrators.
Sleeping tablets are dangerously addictive, and while the Cousins case appears to be the result of an incorrect dose, long term use can have terrible health consequences.
One of the industries that discovered that was ironically not really a sport at all, but US pro wrestling developed an awful track record of performers becoming hopelessly addicted to “somas”, in conjunction with pain medications.
And they were used in just the same way as was reported here in the last fortnight – to “come down” after an event. Several deaths within the industry have been attributed, at least in part, to over-use of sleeping pills.
While I don’t want this to be a dissertation on Ben Cousins, the first question that hit me in his case was, why are potentially addictive drugs being prescribed to a recovering addict?
The collective responsibility in this case overrides the individual. It is perhaps unfortunate for Cousins that it was he who made the dosage mistake, as it could, by the sounds of things, have been any number of AFL players if the assertions of officials are accurate.
Is it too naive to believe that players would get more long term benefit out of NOT taking caffeine tablets and NOT having to pop a sleeping pill?
Why not let the body sort out its sleeping patterns without artificial help. Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it does no harm.
Let’s remember that the two biggest killers in Australian society are both legal drugs – alcohol and nicotine.
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The Crowd Says (14) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- AFL, Ben Cousins, Richmond Tigers, West Coast Eagles
July 13th 2010 @ 2:35am
Alissa said | July 13th 2010 @ 2:35am | Report comment
It shows ignorance (and perhaps even irresponsibility) to question medical professionals in what they prescribe to recovering addicts.
July 13th 2010 @ 9:42am
apaway said | July 13th 2010 @ 9:42am | Report comment
Why, Alissa?
July 13th 2010 @ 5:19pm
anopinion said | July 13th 2010 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
Alissa, no one ever questioned Patel or Michael Jackson’s doctor. No one is above being questioned.
July 14th 2010 @ 11:12pm
Karlos said | July 14th 2010 @ 11:12pm | Report comment
You show ignorance if you think some doctors and other medical professionals don’t do stupid and dangerous things to patiets/people on a regular basis. Think Asbestos. Take the number of doctors and medical professionals around the world taking back handers from drug companies to prescribe certain drugs to people who not not need them and to whom those drugs actually cause harm. Think ADHD. Think doctors and other medical professionals diagnosing children falsly to meet the needs of state run education system requirements, rather than the needs of the children. We as a society have become so dependent on so called experts that we can no longer think for ourselves.
July 13th 2010 @ 7:59am
Michael C said | July 13th 2010 @ 7:59am | Report comment
Let’s first recognise that WADA removed Caffeine from the banned list back in 2004. So, this will be a world wide issue. Not just AFL.
Re ‘legal’ drugs, caffeine and sleeping tablets, WADA has enough trouble working out where it should stand on cortisone injections too.
Where does this topic start and end??
but, still, amongst legel and illegal drugs,
the most common trouble maker is still probably (the abuse of) alcohol.
July 13th 2010 @ 8:40am
Redb said | July 13th 2010 @ 8:40am | Report comment
it’s unfortunate that sportsmen and women need to get a lift before playing, perhaps its the routine of a weekly game or just so they have full concentration.
Where it gets hazy IMO is when players need the upper and then the downer, its gets even more hazy when a player like Cousins who obviously suffers from an addiction/excess problem. I dont know what condition it would be described as but some people are more likely than others to get a bit excessive with their vices, whethers its drugs (legal and not) and alcohol.
So for me the Doctor who prescribed the sleeping tablet must be aware that Cousins has a addictive type personality. As is also common, a person works hard tends to play hard and Cousins himself needs to be more self aware. “the wake up call”.
I wish all the best though, tough battle with his own demons.
July 13th 2010 @ 2:52pm
BigAl said | July 13th 2010 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
.
.
It will be very interesting to see how life for Cousins pans out after he’s finished as a professional sportsman.
.
.
July 14th 2010 @ 11:01pm
Karlos said | July 14th 2010 @ 11:01pm | Report comment
How do they NEED a lift? WANT and NEED are two totally different things. i an certain that blokes playing bush footy for their local town are just as serious about beating the opposition as those in the AFL or NRL for that matter.
I posted last week that it was amazing that between Cousins himself, his natropath girlfriend, club doctors, his own doctor/s, coaches and other staff and club administration no-one had enough common sense to say, “Hey. This guy should be keeping away from highs and lows.”
July 13th 2010 @ 3:39pm
apaway said | July 13th 2010 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
Interesting point, BigAl, though I didn’t want this to be just about Ben Cousins. If Richmond officials are correct, there are a lot more players in the AFL, and possibly other sports as well, who are chemically “fooling” their bodies in order to gain some sort of extra advantage.
A poster distributed by the Australian Drug Foundation states the following about Benzodiazephines (minor tranquilisers, including sleeping tablets): Long-term effects include dependence and depression.
And notably: “Avoid using benzodiazephines when coming down from other drug use.”
July 13th 2010 @ 4:42pm
simonjzw said | July 13th 2010 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
Scientists have known for years that caffeine improves endurance performance (it was thought to be through a glycogen sparing effect but now they think a different mechanism maybe involved) and recently it has been proven to have a short term positive effect on sprint and power activities.
But its proving very problematic to identify the correct dosages beacuse individuals respond differently to the same dose and coffee drinkers have acquired a tolerance.
It’s legal substance in our society and now we know it works ALL sports have experimented with its usage to determine best practice. The Wallabies have been using it for years.
Parents and junior coaches will just have to continue to explain that what happens in elite sport isn’t always appropriate in junior sport. After all if we don’t want kids playing with pain killing injections why would we want them drinking cans of Red Bull?
I don’t think it’s a good thing either (for all the reasons you’ve identified and more) but unless WADA put caffeine back on the banned list elite athletes will continue to use it.
Is the message getting through Mr. Fahey?
July 13th 2010 @ 5:04pm
Tim Philp said | July 13th 2010 @ 5:04pm | Report comment
I agree with Alissa, is the author a medical professional? If so it should be stated, if not the article is worthless. Highlights the issues with ‘nobodies’ having such a high profile outlet for thier unqualified views.
July 13th 2010 @ 5:28pm
anopinion said | July 13th 2010 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
Tim, you say “outlet for thier unqualified views.” You have misspelt ‘their’. By your logic if a person is not an English Teacher then they can not proof read another’s work. Is this the case?
Someone should have questioned Michael Jackson’s doctor.
July 13th 2010 @ 9:10pm
apaway said | July 13th 2010 @ 9:10pm | Report comment
Sorry you think the Roar is an outlet for nobodies, Tim. I take it then that you think it is not worth questioning:
- why sportspeople at elite level are using uppers and downers as part of their routine
- why it is necessary for sportspeople to be prescribed sleeping tablets
- why sportspeople are apparently using opposing drugs in combination despite warnings that such use can have health consequences
- why a high-profile sportsman with a well-documented past history of substance abuse was prescribed a drug well-known to be addictive, and was able to mis-manage the dosage to the point where he landed in an Intensive Care Unit.
July 14th 2010 @ 11:24pm
Karlos said | July 14th 2010 @ 11:24pm | Report comment
Tim, you and your type are the cause of many of socities problems. Common sense has gone and so many people feel the need to ask a qualified person to hold their hand. How dare you call people “nobodies” when you know nothing of them or their experiences in life. Try some critical thinking and read some questioning books like Therapy Culture: Cultivating Vulnerability in and Uncertain Age by Frank Furedi. Be a little more circumspect about what is happening in the world around you and quit your automatic submission to those who hold a qualification.