Objective domain 11. Doping

2011-09-01

Summary of a publication in Swedish.

Knowledge base for the Public Health Policy Report 2010

This report constitutes a knowledge base for the Public Health Policy Report 2010, providing an in-depth view of public health objective domain 11: Doping.

There is a lack of definitive information on the use of doping agents* in Sweden. However, the nationwide questionnaire studies of the past decade do not indicate any changes in doping agent use. According to these studies, around 1 per cent of men and less than 0.5 per cent of women aged 15 to 54 had tried doping agents at some time in life. Doping is most common among men aged 18 to 34 who regularly lift weights at a gym. The number of crimes and seizures of doping agents has increased sharply, which may indicate that doping has become more common.

Measures carried out to limit doping have focused on influencing values, norms, legislation, illegal activities, attitudes and behaviour.

In order to be able to work with prevention and treatment, knowledge development is needed in several areas. This includes establishing who the doping user is, what his or her drives are, what the risk and protective factors are and what the effects of use are. In the past five-year period, doping has begun to receive greater attention in both politics and among those professionally active. This has increased awareness that further measures are needed to obtain knowledge about, prioritise, facilitate, structure and expand prevention and treatment efforts. Some work has been done and is under way internationally, nationally, regionally and locally. This work should continue and at the same time be followed up with evaluations to identify evidence-based methods and approaches. In addition, there is a need for greater general awareness of doping outside sports. It is important that the level of knowledge be raised, especially to increase the possibility of identifying those who use doping agents and individuals who are harmed by doping so that they can be offered help. Doping should continue to receive attention as a problem area and joint measures should be undertaken to develop a better platform of knowledge and structure, on which to continue building in the future. This also includes a need to
develop statistics in the area. It would benefit the doping issue and the individuals harmed by doping if the greater involvement that has recently become apparent were to continue and additional measures were to be initiated. Of the battery of measures presented by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, three measures should primarily be prioritised:

• Provide greater support to the development and implementation of methods to prevent doping
• Develop and coordinate national statistics on doping
• Distribute knowledge in order to identify users of doping agents.

*Substances covered by the Swedish Act Prohibiting Certain Doping Substances (SFS 1991:1969); mainly anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and testosterone.