WADA wages war on nicotine

World Anti-Doping Agency officials are considering classifying nicotine as a performance-enhancing drug, the organization’s scientific director has revealed.

An expert report from a lab in Lausanne has recently described “alarming evidence” of nicotine being used by athletes across 43 sports studied. It says sport federations and the anti-doping watchdog, WADA, should evaluate whether to put nicotine on the list of prohibited substances or begin monitoring its use. "We're discussing this problem regularly," WADA scientific director, Olivier Rabin, told a news-conference in Paris on Friday."In certain sports we know that the use of nicotine is widespread." Nicotine increases the pulse rate and reduces stress and body weight, the report expounds. It calls smokeless tobacco “very attractive'' as a doping product because it does not damage breathing. The breakthrough decision may be taken soon as WADA executive’s committee is currently meeting in Lausanne.