Ireland lead fight against drugs

IRELAND has set a lead for the rest of Europe if not the world in the fight against drugs in sport with the launch yesterday of a new initiative which will ensure that every doctor in the country will know every month what drugs are and are not banned.

The information, which will be provided in the MIMS (the doctors' bible) should ensure there are no grey areas when it comes to what people can or cannot take and if sportsmen and women who require medication go to their doctors they should have nothing to worry about.

That's according to the chairperson of the Irish Sports Council's anti-doping committee Dr Conor O'Brien, who admitted there was concern early in the year that mistakes could be made.

"Now, if you go to your GP he has the information on his desk. If a person goes through the normal medical channels he or she should have no worries," he said.

"And we are now the first country in Europe where all drugs and pharmacalogical agents in MIMS will have a colour coding system green, red, blue or yellow. If it is green it is safe, if it is red it is banned and if it is blue or yellow it needs further investigation."

Dr O'Brien and his committee have surged through to the forefront in the fight against drug abuse in sport.

"We are only up and running for three years. We are the youngest anti- doping programme in Europe and now we have taken the lead in providing clear, comprehensive, regular information on anti-doping to every medical professional in the country.

"Other European countries have shown a keen interest and they are now copying us. I think it is a huge credit to John Treacy and his staff at the Irish Sports Council that this should be the situation."

Sports Minister John O'Donoghue, who launched the new anti-doping initiative for medical professionals yesterday, said the Government's commitment to sport was clear.

"We believe in the value of sport in personal and community development. In order for sport to make this positive contribution to society it must be based on the long established virtue of fair play," he said.

"In the modern era, sport internationally has been blighted by the use of drugs and the suspicions surrounding their abuse. In order for sport to be fair, to be seen to be fair and to be true to its best traditions, the use of performance enhancing substances must be combated."

He said the Irish Sports Council had been charged with combating doping in sport and, to date, had met all its targets.

"Education is a critically important element of the programme and the need to keep medical professionals informed of all relevant developments is essential. The regular publication of clear and accurate information for medics is a significant development.

"The development is the first of its kind in Europe and I want to commend everybody involved in the production for their vision and leadership in producing this unique guide."

The information available in MIMS Ireland is a significant breakthrough in the provision of quality information to medical professionals.

The Irish Sports Council was responding to a demand from doctors, many of whom work in sport in a voluntary capacity, to make information on drugs in sport available.

It complements the information already available through the information campaigns of the Irish Sports Council.

MIMS, in a partnership initiative with the Irish Sports Council, will now contain a classification for each product regarding its use in sport.