Soda Doping Raises Ethical Issues

I found this article to be quite interesting. Most individuals would guess that athletes who use a performance enhancer would be guilt of steroid use. However, this may not be completely accurate. This article details how the ingestion of baking soda can enhance an athlete’s ability. The article discusses whether or not to ban ‘soda doping’ – the ingestion of baking soda as an ergogenic aid.

The article details that some participants had negative side effects from the soda doping while most participants did not. Those who did not suffer any gastrointestinal side effects actually improved their running time by 2.2 seconds. The findings have brought about discussion on whether or not to ban the use of soda doping in sports. The doctor interviewed in this article feels that soda doping gives the user an unfair advantage because sodium bicarbonate is not normally ingested.

The American College of Sports Medicine has long prohibited the use of certain substances that give individuals an unfair advantage. I believe the ethical issue here is: what should be considered an unfair advantage? Is a mere 2.2 seconds enough to ban the use of baking soda? What happens to athletes who ingest an ingredient that gives them a boost but does so without prior knowledge? At what point should an ingredients be considered an unfair advantage?