Dietary supplements, drugs and doping in the sport society.

Consumption of supplements and the use/abuse of drugs to support athletic performance is increasingly growing. The aim of this paper is to approach the phenomenon by providing a tool to develop critical awareness of these problems. By reviewing scientific articles, we collected information on the use of licit and illicit substances among professional and non-professional athletes, showing a widespread scenario also based on false myths.

The prevention of doping and the improper use of drugs and food supplements in sports and physical activities: a survey on the activity of the prevention departments of Italian local health authorities.

Introduction: Doping is an important public health problem widespread not only among elite athletes, but also among amateur and recreational athletes and the general population. In Italy the introduction of doping prevention within the Essential Levels of Care (LEA) with the DPCM 12/1/2017 represents a crucial step towards the implementation of education and health promotion interventions. In this context, the Departments of Prevention (DP) of the Local Health Authorities (LHA) have to play a fundamental role, becoming the cultural and operational reference on this issue.