Editor,
There is so much sadness, So much wailing and gnashing of teeth. So much angst. Cyclists are cheats. Cycling is dirty. Cycling is doomed. It's so embarrassing.
Just hold on. Chill. It's not just cyclists who are on the road to "deceive, mislead, break rules to gain an advantage." Take a look at what a quick scan of the news found:
According to the study "Academic Dishonesty in Graduate Business Programs: The Prevalence, Causes, and Proposed Actions:" 56 percent of MBA students acknowledged cheating, compared with 54 percent in engineering, 48 percent in education and 45 percent in law school.
"The survey by an anti-piracy lobby group shows the percentage of illegal software in use in the UK has stayed at 27%, below the global average of 35%.
"As a physician leader, how concerned are you about unethical business practices affecting U.S. health care today?"
Very concerned 54.6% -807 responses
Moderately concerned 35.6% -527 responses
"Is there a physician - or physicians - WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION who you believe to be involved in unethical business practices?"
Yes 33.1% -464 responses
Cosmetic procedures among ALL AMERICANS in 2005:
Botox - 3,294,782
Breast augmentation - 364,610
Laser hair removal - 1,566,909
Liposuction - 455,489
Chemical Peel - 556,172
In 2000, there were approximately 22,000 drugs on Health Canada's list of drugs approved for human use.
CIHI (2002) reports that just over three quarters (78%) of Canadians aged 12 or older said that they had used one or more prescription or over-the-counter medications in the last month of 1998-99 .The most common drugs taken were painkillers. (taken by 65% )
In 1993, prescription and non-prescription medications were estimated to cost $9.884 billion. . In 1997, only France, United States, Japan and Belgium of the 25 OECD countries that reported their spending on drugs spent more per person than Canada.
The reported rate of use of steroids among U.S. high school age males is 6 percent to 11 percent, according to the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy.
"Dr. Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor of health and human development widely considered the authority on teen steroid use, estimated that at least 500,000 to 600,000 U.S. kids have used steroids. "
"NASCAR set an example at the season-opening Daytona 500 by busting 18 crew chiefs for rules violations. Two crew chiefs, Tony Furr and Kevin Cram, were suspended for four races when their cars failed post-race inspections. In addition, Furr and Gary DeHart were placed on probation until the end of the year for multiple infractions.
"Today, there are so many templates, and there's a reason for it. Every time they put a template here, we'd start cheating over there. It's not cheating, it's just racing."
"He cited several cases, including that of U.S. Olympic medal-winner Marion Jones whose ex-husband said she used steroids. She denied the allegations. Rumors abound, said Wheatcroft, about a tennis player whose physique is "reminiscent of Barry Bonds." Bonds is the baseball player who took synthetic steroids, claiming he thought they were flaxseed oil.
The pressure to win pushes competitors over the limits of fair play in many ways, not all of them chemical. The outbreak of diving during this summer's soccer World Cup ("plain fraud," said Wheatcroft) was enough to turn any spectator deeply cynical.
The 2005 WADA report on Laboratory Statistics shows 3,909 Adverse Analytical Findings (positive results) out of 183,337 tests. (2.13%).
Cycling: - 3.78% - 482 positives out of 12,751 tests
Baseball: - 3.69% - - 390/10,580
Triathlon: - 3.14% - - 74/2,170
Archery: - 2.94% - 25/850
Golf: - 5.21% - 20/384
Rugby: - 2.46% - 113/4,601
Ice Hockey: - 2.87% - 79/2,751
Boxing: - 3.14% - 83/2433
Volleyball: - 2.06% - 54/2161
Weightlifting: - 2.50% - 146/5842
Athletics: - 1.67% - 342/20,464
Football (Soccer): 1.46% - 343/23,478
Billiards: - 9.96% - 28/281
Motorcycle Racing: 3.23% - 12/372
Underwater sports: 3.22% - 12/373
Orienteering: - 2.09% - 10/479
Bandy: - 3.94% - 8/203
55.2% of all Adverse Analytical Findings were Anabolic agents (43.4%) or stimulants.
60.7% of AAF for Anabolic agents the identified substance was Testosterone.
"Victory in the ancient Olympics ensured rich rewards in the form of money, food, housing, tax exemptions and release from army service. Not surprisingly, bribing and cheating became commonplace.
Drug use was ultimately one of the major reasons for the dissolution of the ancient Olympic Games."
Cycling has problems? Just look around.
Leen Tuk
Hamilton, Canada
There's doping in Bandy!? What is there left to believe in? - Editor
