2007 DRUG TESTING IN TAEKWONDO
For the competitive Taekwondo athlete there are several things you should be aware of as of January 1st 2007. Since 1999, when drug testing became a standard practice in Taekwondo, several changes have been made to the banned list or “SUBSTANCE CLASSIFICATION”.
There are many medications that you can take and not have to worry about testing positive on a drug test. For instance, Tylenol, (acetaminophen) Motrin and Advil (ibuprofen) are allowed medications.
Examples of medications that are no longer banned are in the cold medication category. For example BENYLIN All in ONE Cold and Flu, NEOCITRAN, ROBITUSSIN COUGH and COLD SINUTAB, TYLENOL COLD and FLU which contains PSEUDOPHEDRINE can now be taken for cold symptoms.
In fact there many options now for athletes with cold symptoms such as cough congestion and pain. Just a few years ago, many athletes tested positive for pseudophedrine and were disqualified from competition.
The substance classification book published by the CCES has several categories of ALLOWED medications; some of the categories include acne therapy, antacids, and antibiotics, anti diarrheas, muscle relaxants, anti depressants and many more. Complete list see 1.0 Permitted Substances of the SUBSTANCE CLASSIFICATION BOOKLET www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-PUB-SubstanceClassification-E-pdf.
In terms of banned substances, many more have been added as many more have been developed to help athletes cheat the system. In order to be a banned substance it must enhance performance, and have the potential to harm the athlete. Another category of banned substances are the ones which mask or hide other drugs.
The obvious banned substances are anabolic steroids, these medications can increase muscle mass, and improve performance. Inhaled steroids used to treat asthma are NOT the same thing. Inhaled corticosteroids are common treatments for asthma and can be used by athletes with the proper paper work.
Medications such as SALBUTAMOL (ventolin), PULMICORT, SYMBICORT require an ABBREVIATED THERAPEUTIC USE EXEMPTION but only if you are listed in the CCES REGITERED testing pool. To check if you are in the pool: www.cces.ca.
For other drugs which are on the banned list a STANDARD TUE must be used. For example insulin must be documented with supporting medical investigations to prove the requirement for insulin.
CCES has a really handy resource called DRUG INFORMATION DATABASE www.didglobal.com. On this website, you can look up a medication and it will tell you by sport whether that medication is banned.
Also CCES now publishes details of test completed, the names of people who tested positive for a banned substance, and the length of time they are sanctioned for. In July to December of 2006, 9 people tested positive for various banned substances. Several of these people tested positive for cannabis. For most sports including Taekwondo cannabis is banned; testing positive for this could result in a 2 year suspension from competition.
Herbal remedies and supplements: the standards for the manufacturing and distributing of herbal supplements do not meet the CCES criteria. In a random test of herbal supplements from several companies in the US, some supplements which did not list banned substances on the label actually had trace elements of banned substances in the container. Herbal supplements are not recommended at this point.
In summary there are a lot of resources available to athletes. There are more over the counter medications that you can take, just check it out first. There are plenty resources for you, and remember it is ultimately the athletes responsibility to ensure what he or she takes is safe.
Dr Terry DeFreitas MD
CCFP
Sport Med Diploma (CASM)
Medical Chairperson, Taekwondo Canada
