Performance enhancement and drug control in sport: ethical considerations

Performance enhancing drug use in sport is regarded as a crisis requiring comprehensive and often drastic measures to redress it. This essay examines critically the ethical foundations and implications of the major arguments that are mounted to oppose and control drug use in sport. Some of the most common arguments are based on appeals to naturalness, fairness, health and the spirit of sport. Others relate to the interplay of individual rights and community values, including those of sport. Not so common are the ethical issues that relate to the status of athletes as moral agents in high-tech sport and the ethical implications of 'zero tolerance' approaches to drug control. The essay concludes by identifying several avenues for further ethical scrutiny.