WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2906/98 by Gianni TAMINO to the Commission. Drug-taking in sport
Date: 1998-10-02
Institutions: European Parliament, TAMINO
Subjects: employer, experiment on humans, medicinal product, occupational health, occupational safety, performance drugs, professional sport, sport, young person

21.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 142/55

(1999/C 142/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2906/98

by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission

(2 October 1998)

Subject: Drug-taking in sport

For the last couple of months the issue of drug-taking in sport has dominated the law reports in Europe,
especially in Italy. In view of the fact that professional sportsmen are in every respect workers and that,
pursuant to Directive 89/391/EEC (1), employers are under a duty to evaluate the risks and, on the basis of
that assessment, take all necessary measures for the safety and health protection of workers, does the
Commission believe that the use of pharmaceutical products to improve the physical performance of
sportsmen, often with serious side-effects, is incompatible with the Community provisions safeguarding
the health of workers?

In addition, Article 129 of the Treaty on European Union protects the health of citizens, which obviously
includes all sportsmen, and requires the Union to ensure ‘a high level of human health protection’. How is
this compatible with the practice, common in Italy, of testing the effects of particular substances on
athletes belonging to amateur or junior teams, using them as ‘guinea pigs’ to test the benefits of certain
pharmaceutical products designed to enhance physical performance and to find out the optimum dosage
by weighing up the positive effects against the side-effects with a view to their use by professional
athletes?

In order to ascertain the extent of this phenomenon, it would be advisable to investigate in addition the
‘improper’ use of many pharmaceutical products by comparing the data on the production and use of
specific substances which could be regarded as drugs but are nevertheless indicated in certain
circumstances with the quantity necessary for purely medical use.

In the light of the above, can the Commission say what measures it intends to take and whether it believes
that it should take action on this issue by means of a legislative proposal at European level?

(1) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(9 December 1998)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member’s concerns about doping.

Sportsmen/women are only covered by the provisions of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989
on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (1)
to the extent that they are regarded as workers within the meaning of Article 3, which defines them as ‘any
person employed by an employer ...’. Under Articles 5 and 6, employers must ensure the safety and health
of workers in every aspect related to their work and take the measures necessary for the safety and health
protection of workers. In this connection, employers must observe the general principles of prevention set
out in Article 6(2), particularly avoiding risks (a) and evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided (b).
Therefore, the use by sportsmen/women of pharmaceutical products with often serious side-effects in
order to improve their physical fitness may represent a risk to the health of workers which the employer
should, in the light of the first general principle of prevention, take steps to avoid.

The Commission believes that the consumption of drugs for the purpose of enhancing physical
performance should be regarded as harmful and therefore be strongly discouraged.

(1) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989.