Navigation
Hair Loss News Archives
September 2004
New substances added to WADA’s banned drugs list
LONDON:
A medical product used to treat both
male hair loss and prostate problems has been added to the list
of banned drugs for athletes.
The World Anti-Doping Agency banned the use of finasteride, for
fear it could be used as a masking agent, at their Executive
Committee meeting on Tuesday.
WADA said the decision had been taken to add finasteride to the
banned list following the results of a research project.
The anti-doping czars also ruled that intravenous infusion for
non-medical purposes will now be explicitly banned and that from
2005 Beta-2 agonists, often used in the treatment of asthma,
will be prohibited in and out of competition. Since 2004, WADA
has been tasked with issuing the Prohibited List on an annual
basis, a responsibility previously held by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC).
A substance or method is added to the
list if it meets two of three criteria: it is performance
enhancing, poses a danger to athletes’ health, and its use is
against the spirit of sport. “Refining the list is an important
part of WADA’s responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping
Code,” WADA president Richard Pound said in a statement.
Scientific knowledge: “The changes we have made this year
reflect our expanding scientific knowledge and our ability to
better identify performance enhancing substances and methods.”
The new list will be published prior to October 1, 2004, and
will be put into effect on January 1, 2005.
The Executive
Committee, which met in Montreal, also proposed a 2005 budget of
$21,705,000 – an increase of $1.47 million on this year.
The budget is due to be approved by WADA’s Foundation Board at
its November meeting. WADA has received 80 percent of its 2004
budget from governments and the IOC. The United States has
committed to pay $1.45 million soon after the start of its
fiscal year on October 1, bringing total contributions this year
to more than 90 percent.
WADA has also collected this year a
further $3.9 million from governments and the IOC for funds due
in 2002 and 2003, the body said.
“We are very pleased that governments now seem to have their
budgetary processes in place for meeting their financial
commitments to WADA,” Pound said. “We have collected more money
this year from our stakeholders than ever before.
This reflects the commitment of governments and the sports movement to WADA and allows the Agency to carry on the necessary work and scientific research to continue to fight doping.” reuters