SAIDS answers hot topics surrounding doping in schools
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport’s core focus is to tackle doping in sport in order to ensure a culture of ethics and fair play within South Africa.
SAIDS regards itself as being passionate about sport and South Africa’s national sporting heroes setting a good example for the younger generation.
SAIDS encourages athletes to compete drug-free, and also to be proud to say no to doping.
Khalid Galant, Chief Executive Officer of SAIDS, talks to the Advertiser:
Is it legal or illegal to take steroids under the age of 18?
Steroids, outside of medical use and not dispensed by a medical doctor is illegal in SA, irrespective of the age of the user.
What is the extent of doping in schools?
We remain very concerned, as the use of steroids has not appeared to abate since we started talking to schools and launched a pilot testing programme in schools.
What has SAIDS done to curb doping in schools?
We have delivered numerous education sessions to schools across the country, at the request of headmasters. We launched a pilot testing programme two years ago. The programme has its limits and constraints, because it is different from the “no-notice testing” in sport.
Testing in schools is done under the auspices of the SA Schools Act and can be initiated only by a headmaster. The Department of Basic Education has been very active in working with us to address the issue of steroid use and doping across a wider spectrum of schools. To implement a comprehensive and equitable testing programme requires amendments to the Schools Act.
How does the drug-free sport initiative work?
University of KZN and SharksSmart (Dr Glen Haggemann) did a study a few years ago and actually more school steroid-users are non-athletes. They are using steroids for cosmetic/aesthetic purposes.
How bad is doping in school sports?
While we have done most of the testing in rugby, steroid use is not limited to the sport of rugby. The commercial stakes are just higher in rugby for school boys to excel, so the temptation to use steroids is higher.
Why do school children dope?
Doping is not only about steroid use. We have also seen an increased trend in the use of strong stimulants among school sport and diuretics, to speed up weight loss.
Dangers of steroid abuse
According to South African Institute of Drug-Free Sports (SAIDS), anabolic steroids are a scheduled drug regulated by the Medicine Controls Council.
The dangers of steroid use in healthy individuals for sports performance or cosmetic use are well documented, especially the long term effects on organs and reproductive organs.
One of the primary dangers is that one cannot just take one steroid to build muscle, you have to couple it with other drugs to control side-effects like aggression, insomnia and feminising characteristics (in men) and masculine properties (in women).
That is the reason steroid use is often described as steroid cocktails or “stacking”.
