Cycling Weekly has explained the background to the latest performance-enhancing drug charges against cyclist Chris Froome.The standard salbutamol single dose is 100 micrograms. That is usually enough to relieve asthma symptoms quickly. Only in the case of a severe attack should more than a couple of puffs be needed. Chris Froome's test showed that he had exceeded the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules (1,600 micrograms of salbutamol can be taken by an athlete via inhaler in a 24-hour period without the need for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate) even allowing for build-up in the system.
If a preventer (e.g. an inhaled corticosteroid) is taken regularly there should be only occasional need for salbutamol. In New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, beta-agonists (the class of drug to which salbutamol belongs) were prescribed for prophylactic use. Prescribing policy changed when the rate of deaths among asthmatics began to rise noticeably.
Salbutamol is safer than the favoured drug in New Zealand, but even so at high doses there are side-effects affecting the heart and even breathing. I would be worried if I found myself taking 400 micrograms in a 24-hour period, yet I understand Froome's medical advice is that he can take up to 800 micrograms in 12 hours. If, as the latest test seems to show, he exceeded that during La Vuelta, then questions must be asked.
1 comment:
Interesting post, Frank, especially as I once cycled regularly, and follow professional cycling for all its trials and tribulations. I read in another article that Froome's adverse test results were the equivalent of four or five puffs of his inhaler. It didn't say over what period but to me, as a layman, that doesn't seem excessive but clearly he has to satisfy the authorities on this. It's such a shame this has come up. I like to believe Froome is as clean a rider as you'll find in professional cycling. An athlete who has not received the accolades from the British public that his amazing performances have warranted.
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