Anti-doping agency to monitor caffeine, nicotine

Caffeine, part of everyone's morning cup of tea or coffee, has got into the new list of substances that would be monitored by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport.

Caffeine, part of everyone's morning cup of tea or coffee, has got into the new list of substances that would be monitored by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport.

Also in the list of substances, which are not on WADA's Prohibited List but which it wishes to monitor in future, is nicotine, inhaled by smokers of cigarettes.

"Stimulants bupropion, caffeine, nicotine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradrol, pseudoephedrine (less than 150 micrograms per millilitre), synephrine, and narcotics hydrocodone, mitragynine, morphine/codeine ratio, tapentadol and tramadol have all been added to the 2014 Monitoring Programme for possible in-competition abuse," WADA said in a media statement after its Executive Committee meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday.

"In addition, glucocorticosteroids have been added to the Programme for possible out-of-competition abuse," it added.

The Executive Committee discussed the progress towards the revised Code and the International Standards, Science Research Funding, development of the anti-doping laboratory network, introduction of the Steroidal Module, the 2014 Prohibited List and Monitoring Programme.

"The 2015 Code and International Standards will be ratified at the forthcoming World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg in November, 2013," the release added.