Fight against doping to target manufacturers and distributors
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
LONDON: The World Anti-Doping Agency wants to target manufacturers and distributors of illegal substances as well as the athletes taking them.
"We know that mere collection of urine and blood samples is not going to end the fight against doping in sport," WADA director general David Howman said Tuesday.
WADA and UK Sport organized the two-day meeting in London to find new anti-doping methods beyond sample collection and analysis.
They said targeting large-scale manufacturers and distributors requires cooperation by government and law enforcement agencies, who were represented at the symposium.
Howman praised Operation Gear Grinder, in which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005 shut down eight companies illegally producing anabolic steroids in Mexico.
The DEA has since been working with WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Howman said.
"The DEA have been involved in several inquiries involving the global distribution of anabolic steroids and HGH (human growth hormone)," Howman said. "(They) have welcomed the expertise that anti-doping agencies can give them as to the use of these substances."
The symposium also discussed the ongoing Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation in the United States and Operation Puerto in Spain, which involved authorities going after suppliers of steroids and growth hormones.
"We are just happy that this new aspect of shifting away from purely collecting urine and blood is the way forward," said John Scott, the director of drug-free sport for UK Sport, the national anti-doping organization for Britain.
"What we are very keen to do is learn from others and the practical experience that we saw from the DEA was an absolute revelation," Scott said.
In Operation Gear Grinder, the DEA used the Internet to track down the illegal businesses and their sales, and the Internet is likely to play a large role in any new initiative, WADA said.
"It hasn't been a high priority in anybody's listing," Howman said. "It is regrettable that sport has to take the lead in these things ... but sometimes sport is what makes society shift."
A WADA policy group will be formed to set guidelines for how to execute the plans.
"We're very much at the beginning of this," Scott said. "I think that what came out of the seminar is that the vast majority of countries are very much at the beginning of this."
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
LONDON: The World Anti-Doping Agency wants to target manufacturers and distributors of illegal substances as well as the athletes taking them.
"We know that mere collection of urine and blood samples is not going to end the fight against doping in sport," WADA director general David Howman said Tuesday.
WADA and UK Sport organized the two-day meeting in London to find new anti-doping methods beyond sample collection and analysis.
They said targeting large-scale manufacturers and distributors requires cooperation by government and law enforcement agencies, who were represented at the symposium.
Howman praised Operation Gear Grinder, in which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005 shut down eight companies illegally producing anabolic steroids in Mexico.
The DEA has since been working with WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Howman said.
"The DEA have been involved in several inquiries involving the global distribution of anabolic steroids and HGH (human growth hormone)," Howman said. "(They) have welcomed the expertise that anti-doping agencies can give them as to the use of these substances."
The symposium also discussed the ongoing Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation in the United States and Operation Puerto in Spain, which involved authorities going after suppliers of steroids and growth hormones.
"We are just happy that this new aspect of shifting away from purely collecting urine and blood is the way forward," said John Scott, the director of drug-free sport for UK Sport, the national anti-doping organization for Britain.
"What we are very keen to do is learn from others and the practical experience that we saw from the DEA was an absolute revelation," Scott said.
In Operation Gear Grinder, the DEA used the Internet to track down the illegal businesses and their sales, and the Internet is likely to play a large role in any new initiative, WADA said.
"It hasn't been a high priority in anybody's listing," Howman said. "It is regrettable that sport has to take the lead in these things ... but sometimes sport is what makes society shift."
A WADA policy group will be formed to set guidelines for how to execute the plans.
"We're very much at the beginning of this," Scott said. "I think that what came out of the seminar is that the vast majority of countries are very much at the beginning of this."
