Discussion of public health and decriminalization of doping

Abstract

These reflections aim to increase awareness of the contradictions inherent in the definition of sport and its relation to health and education. Taking the doping issue as a point of departure, we seek to open a general debate regarding the impact of the sports performance industry on public health. Illegal doping practices lead to the health insecurity of many professional and aspiring athletes, and, moreover, to the ethical disorientation of sports amateurs and educators. We therefore consider the necessity of discussing a possible decriminalization of doping in professional sports.