Survey on the attitudes of pharmacy students in Japan toward doping and supplement intake

Doping is one of the most serious problems for athletes, and it is important that pharmacists have more interaction with athletes to ensure safer drug usage. Education is one of the most important roles of sports pharmacists, who are specialists regarding drug usage for athletes. We investigated pharmacy students' interests and comprehension regarding drug usage, doping and supplement intake by using the form of a questionnaire, since it is important to know how they understand these subjects as part of their greater educational program. The subjects were sophomore and junior pharmacy students at three universities. It was revealed that most of the students have negative images regarding doping violation, and they answered that they are familiar with doping. However, only sixteen percent of the students had attended lectures by specialists on doping. In addition, one third of pharmacy students did not know that some over-the-counter (OTC) drugs might contain doping substances. With regard to supplement intake, approximately two thirds of the respondents had an interest in and positive image of supplement intake. However, it was revealed that only one third of them recognized supplements as food, and their information regarding supplements was obtained from uncertain media. It was suggested that it is important for pharmacy students to have more opportunities to learn about what doping is. More education and enlightenment by sports pharmacists would be effective for pharmacy students as well as athletes, and it would help us to broaden the scope of what we can do for athletes and society.