A Limerick doctor told the annual conference of the Irish College of General Practitioners in Limerick at the weekend that he did not consider that drugs were a major problem in Irish sport, but he was "not naive enough to believe that sport in Ireland is completely clean".
Dr Michael Griffin said that the pressure on participants was huge since the rewards were so great. "The temptation is there to look to science to get the edge."
He pointed out that sportsmen and women could often be unaware that routine over-the-counter medications, such as simple cough mixtures, contained banned substances.
According to Dr Griffin, another area of difficulty was caffeine, which could be obtained from a variety of sources, including coffee, cola, "Red Bull" and even a Bulgarian herb called guarana. "An athlete, for example, may not be aware that all four of these have caffeine. To be over the limit one would need to take eight cups of coffee just prior to an event," he said.
He considered that doctors had a role in giving advice to people involved in sport. GPs should give appropriate information on drugs to adults who were involved in sport and let them make up their own minds on whether to use them.
He called on the governing bodies of all sports to adopt a "holistic support service" for young players and athletes.