it’s not doping but it hurts – Corriere.it

The photos on the British tabloids multiply and the clips on social networks as well: football players from Premier League surprised to slip a substance under the lips in the breaks of the games and then chew it. The last one Bertrand Traorcaught by the cameras while he was doing it just before entering the field to replace a teammate during the match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at the end of March.

Bertrand Traor il a cal son snus en sous-marin pic.twitter.com/WkS5at0Uua

— Alm (@Ali1cinq) February 18, 2023

The substance known to everyone for years – the notorious snus or smug or snuff. The alarm sounded some time ago, back in 2011 when, by monitoring 2,185 urine samples from athletes from 45 different sports, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) realized that in 15% of bottles there were traces of nicotine taken immediately before or even during the competition. A fact that convinced Wada to include the substance in the monitored products to understand the relationship between a recreational substance and one not really suitable for sportsmen and athletes. The study revealed very soon that the presence of nicotine was not due to smoking (active or passive) but direct intake of the substance, in the form of snus (the Swedish term) or tobacco ground and generally sold in the form of pellets chewable. The sale of snus is illegal in most European countries (not in Sweden, where it is widespread among very young people) because the product is considered harmful and carcinogenic but its consumption remains very high, even among sportsmen.

Direct testimonials and TV images show how players use it even during matches. Its consumption is not considered doping because the substance has never been included in the Wada list. To do so, the Agency would have to categorize it as stimulating but awould have problems distinguishing it from nicotine taken with smoke which for obvious reasons cannot be considered doping. The key questions remain two.

Snus doping? Is it harmful to health?

The snus does it really improve performance? Is it harmful to health? The first is difficult to answer, because the few studies carried out so far have given very conflicting results. Some researchers have found improvements in the level of concentration and in aerobic performance but only in amateur athletes and at a low level of effort intensity, others have found no benefit. Everyone seems to agree on the risks in those who practice sport. An article from the Department of Cardiology of the University of Dijon appeared in the journal scientificat Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases describes them thus: The snug taken during the effort can cause coronary vasoconstriction. important to point out that smokeless tobacco, similar to cigarette smoking, leads to nicotine addiction via dopaminergic pathways. Smokeless tobacco has harmful cardiovascular effects and is addictive: it meets all the criteria for inclusion in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances as a doping product. The use of smokeless tobacco in sporting activities should be discouraged.