Caffeine Pills face ban from AFL.

[mightysainters]

Reactionary step because this has happened once and it's caffeine... wow

 

[Barnzy]

The AFL are the kings of knee-jerk decisions.

Was just about to say that. Would love it if they could just leave the game along instead of tampering with the rules every 2 seconds. The players and umpires still don't understand the rushed behind rule because ironically it was rushed in without little explanation just like all their or their other rules. The AFL seem to love to get on the front foot on the latest issues going through the media to give off the impression they have everything under control.

 

[skinnyjim]

What a joke. It's caffeine.They used to give us glucose tablets in the under 14's.
I've never seen anyone do anything special because of coffee.

I hear Mocconna does the best gear. Explosive results when administered with a Tim tam or 2.

But I hear it does push the pooh button pretty swiftly.

Pff.

 

[skinnyjim]

And my missus is addicted to caffeine and she is still sluggish around the house.

 

[ManWithNoName]

To me the main concern here is that it's now very in the open that AFL clubs use caffeine pills before games, and that seemingly the AFL's fine with it. How long before local footy clubs start trying it? And if the local clubs start, how long before it filters down to the Under 18s, Under 16s, Under 14s etc.

Yes, for AFL players a caffeine pill is probably no big deal, but it's more about the image it projects and the precedent it sets IMO

 

[Helfarch]

You'd think they'd look closer at 'the jab' as an instant performance enhancer and potential injury exacerbater before going after too much coffee.

Redbull etc wil not be pleased

 

[jim boy]

I dont think this goes far enough. Sugar should also be given the flick.

 

[Helfarch]

I dont think this goes far enough. Sugar should also be given the flick.

Those lollies in the coaches box are suspect.

 

[mysainters]

Mmmm, coffee

 

[skinnyjim]

Yes, I do see your point, the better someone is at anything, the more of a role model they have to be today-what an unfortunate reality for a talented, free thinking individual just enjoying their time. Some blokes are born to set the moral example and others just aren't. Carey was an awesome player. Ablett Snr didn't have the best off-field image. Cousins etc etc. But these guys didn't make the image of the game what it is because they were squeaky clean.
The image of the footy (and Cricket) at the top level suffers from over-regulation tied directly to marketability. This puts ridiculously high expectations/pressure on players. Players are well within their rights to deal with pressure any way they see fit as long as it is within the rules.

Add 'fourth estate' player villification/trial by media and a governing structure which doesn't allow players to express themselves and you have just another business with a great image and no heart.

Give me a flawed genius any day.

Kids should be told young these guys are not perfect. Less rules and media, more true stories.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Have to love the hypocrisy in the media - footy sells - so that's where they go.

I haven't seen them attack the government or the AIS for pioneering Caffeine in sport.

I know for a fact the men's hockey team pioneered the use of caffeine.

It wasn't a choice like it is with AFL players - each team member was weighed prior to the game and prescribed a dose of Caffeine appropriate with their weight to ensure they didn't go over the allowed limit. The anecdotal information I was told is that it has an effect for night matches but not day matches.

So here we have a government, a sport and a respected institution systematically prescribing stimulants to their athletes - but no story is made of it. On the other hand we have a sport where each player makes a decision for themselves - and it's front page news.

 

[skinnyjim]

Right on.

 

[peppy la pew]

And my missus is addicted to caffeine and she is still sluggish around the house.

She's doing it wrong

 

[MarkT2]

So here we have a government, a sport and a respected institution systematically prescribing stimulants to their athletes - but no story is made of it. On the other hand we have a sport where each player makes a decision for themselves - and it's front page news.

To be fair, it is front page news because a know stimulant abuser takes it and then uses sleeping pills and ended up in hospital and not for the first time. Of course it is news.

It's an image the AFL don't want and something I don't want filterring down to lower leagues let alone junior comps.

If everyone takes it the advantage is negated. If no one takes it there is no disadvantage but if some do, the ones that don't will feel disadvantaged and will tend toward taking it. It becomes the norm if it hasn't already.

There are certainly worse things you can do but banning high levels of Caffine can't really be bad thing can it?

 

[The Falcon Strike]

To be fair, it is front page news because a know stimulant abuser takes it and then uses sleeping pills and ended up in hospital and not for the first time. Of course it is news.

They aren't just reporting that story though. It's exanded far more than just Cousins.

They are now on a witch hunt over the culture in AFL (and NRL) of taking pills. Saying it's a bad message etc etc. However if the media don't report it - no message is ever conveyed.

Add to that- how's the message that a government is sponsoring, endorsing and enforcing this same drug taking mentality. Surely that's a bigger story if they want to pursue a witch-hunt.

 

[campbell]

Players and No Doz Tablets

What does everyone think about the practice of using no doz before and during matches?

Should the AFL ban it? Is it okay? What about the practice of taking sleeping tabs as well, to bring them down? the old uppers and downers thing.

Will it take a player to die for things to change, or is this acceptable to everyone. The risk.

I note that WADA is thinking of bringing it back on the banned list due to this weeks events in AFL.

 

[dymmot]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

No Doz tablets contain no more caffiene than in your standard strong cup of coffee. I don't see how this is any different to a player necking a can of V or Red Bull before the game.

 

[midorigreenwood]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

yeah, technically its performance enhancing........ but probably unenforceable due to the number of ways to accidentally dose like coffee and energy drinks

 

[Brock Machine]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

Swap no-doz with placebo and players wouldn't have a clue. It's all in ya head!

 

[midorigreenwood]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

Swap no-doz with placebo and players wouldn't have a clue. It's all in ya head!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/health/nutrition/26best.html?_r=1

Starting as long ago as 1978, researchers have been publishing caffeine studies. And in study after study, they concluded that caffeine actually does improve performance. In fact, some experts, like Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University in Canada, are just incredulous that anyone could even ask if caffeine has a performance effect.

“There is so much data on this that it’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s just unequivocal that caffeine improves performance. It’s been shown in well-respected labs in multiple places around the world.”

The only new questions were how it exerts its effects and how little caffeine is needed to get an effect.

..........................

Now, Dr. Tarnopolsky and others report that caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium that is stored in muscle. The effect can enable athletes to keep going longer or to go faster in the same length of time. Caffeine also affects the brain’s sensation of exhaustion, that feeling that it’s time to stop, you can’t go on any more. That may be one way it improves endurance, Dr. Tarnopolsky said.

The performance improvement in controlled laboratory settings can be 20 to 25 percent, Dr. Tarnopolsky said. But in the real world, including all comers, the improvement may average about 5 percent, still significant if you want to get your best time or even win a race.

For years, researchers believed that you needed about 5 to 6 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. An 80-kilogram, or 176-pound man, for example, would need about 400 milligrams of caffeine, or 20 ounces of coffee.

Now, Louise M. Burke, the head of sports nutrition department of the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, reports that athletes get the full caffeine effect with as little as 1 milligram of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Instead of 20 ounces of coffee, a 176-pound man could drink 4 ounces of coffee, or about two 12-ounce cans of Coke.

 

[jerry springer]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

Its not a good look.But its hard to be critical of simple caffeine tablets, when everybody turns a blind eye to all the pain-killing injections that players receive during a game

 

[GoCROWS!]

As others have said, it is not neccessarily the content of the No-Doz pill it is the related drug taking mentality it promotes. I for one don't want to see athletes taking uppers and downers before and after the game. I wouldnt even have as much of a problem if it was a can of redbull. But the image of popping pills before and after is an unhealthy image to portray, particularly to kids.

And yes, I do think the image of getting a jab to mask the pain and play on is also an unhealthy one. Teaches people not to look after their bodies and think that they can just ignore pain then in 10-15 years be absolutely buggered and require joint replacement surgery etc... It's not natural.

Also they are no just taking one pill they are overdosing on it, it is a crap image. Regardless of content in the pills.

 

[mysainters]

Re: Players and No Doz Tablets

No Doz tablets contain no more caffiene than in your standard strong cup of coffee. I don't see how this is any different to a player necking a can of V or Red Bull before the game.

Though, they haven't really been around long enough for people to know the impact on people's health should they excessively drink them either.

 

[MF]

Knee jerk reaction bullshit.

Let's hope Garry Ablett, Luke Hodge or Nick Reiwoldt don't choke on a piece of steak.

 

[dav3]

http://www.energyfiend.com/huge-caffeine-database

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Long term use has ulcers as something you may get.

long term effects of living include death, whats your point?

whats next? a player gets banned for having a cup of coffee with breakfast before the game? if anything this should just be a warning about the misuse of sleeping pills. if this had happened to someone other than a recovering drug addict it would be a non-issue.