It is a sign of the dynamic environment that surrounds the use of drugs in sport that this book, first published in 1988, has recently been published in its sixth edition.
Following the successful London 2012 Olympic Games, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the recent high profile cases of Lance Armstrong and Asafa Powell, there has been heightened interest in the area of doping in sports. The contents of the book are applicable to all pharmacists in ensuring that they are aware of the use of drugs in sport and the reasons why decisions have been made in relation to what is permitted.
The book assumes no prior knowledge and guides readers (lay reader to the knowledgeable reader) through what is a complex subject matter. The layout of the book is in the same order as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited list, making the book easy to navigate.
The book also covers areas of potential future abuse of pharmaceutical agents and genetic manipulation as well as comprehensively outlining the background and significance of the current WADA Prohibited list. It also reflects the changes that have taken place from 1 Jan 2015, when a new WADA code took effect.
There are well designed tables, illustrations and case studies to support the text and allow the reader to understand the points made in relation to how athletes have been impacted by the WADA code.
The book has an excellent reference text to allow specialists and non-specialists to provide accurate advice and give them a robust understanding of the subject area.
Adrian MacKenzie
References
‘Drugs in sport: sixth edition’, edited by David R Mottram and Neil Chester. Ppxiii+351 £39.99. London: Routledge; 2015. ISBN 978 0 415 71528 7
