February 4, 2002 Efforts to keep Olympic games drug-freeWith the Winter Olympic Games scheduled to begin Feb. 8 in Salt Lake City, Olympic officials are busy tightening efforts to keep the games drug-free. Some athletes have already been caught up in drugs controversies. Some steps have been put in place to help ensure athletes are free of banned substances: Mandatory testing will take place in Salt Lake City, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will bring 12 observers to the Games. WADA will conduct their own tests, and it has also carried out 1,200 tests in the two months leading up to the Games. Each athlete will be given a drug passport to document doping control records. Gail Newton, associate professor of pharmacy practice at Purdue, can talk about performance-enhancing drugs, how they work and how they can be detected. CONTACT: Gail Newton, (765) 494-1473, newton@pharmacy.purdue.edu. |