Regulating Herbs & Athletes

I do believe that the government should play a role in dictating the use of herbal supplements and any performing enhancing substances used by athletes. If the government doesn't do it, who will? It certainly seems that in the world of professional baseball, nobody will worry about monitoring performance enhancers and nobody will speak up about the issue unless they are put under the microscope and pressured to do so. Some individuals who feel that the government should not be involved say that it shouldn't really matter what athletes are doing to give themselves a "competitive edge," but I think that it does matter because using these enhancers will take on a snowball effect. Every year, they will keep trying to get a better edge - that's what has been happening, and that's what will inevitably keep happening without some serious intervention. Baseball players look like the Incredible Hulk. The few players that don't use enhancers are the oddballs, and that leads them to feel pressure to join the pack of muscle heads.

Not only is the use of herbal supplements to enhance performance a danger to the players at the present time, but it is also a clear danger to the future of the sport. Children look up to professional athletes - even though they often shouldn't nowadays. At some point, kids are going to start losing faith in the sports that they once aspired to become great at. Why would a child think it would be appealing to aspire to become hooked on designer steroids? Why would a child want to work hard for years at something that he or she would have to take drugs for in order to become a pro? The other message this type of behavior sends to kids is that cheating is okay, as long as you're doing it to fit in with peers. Professional athletes should be inspiring children, not blurring the lines between right and wrong for them.

I find it surprising that there aren't more regulations in place regarding herbal supplements, but on the other hand, perhaps there wasn't as much of a need for their regulation until more recent times. Herbal supplements are sort of a trend at the present, and they have been for a while. However, almost everything you can buy at GNC says the product and the statements about the product have not been evaluated by the FDA. To me, that discredits them. I think that having more regulations in place would make consumers better off because they would actually have something truthful and tested on the shelves. I think it would be better for the herbal supplement industry as well because the statements that they have made - if found to be true - would finally be validated.