SYDNEY -- An Australian defense report has recommended the country's soldiers take performance-enhancing substances, some of which are banned by international sporting bodies.
Australian defense chiefs are now considering the recommendations contained in a report by the defense department's Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO).
The report is based on collaborative research by Australia, Britain, the United States, New Zealand and Canada.
The research focused on the effects of using 50 substances such as caffeine, ephedrine, and blood loading, which athletes claim enhance performance, a DSTO spokesman told Reuters on Friday.
Ephedrine is banned in many sports. Blood loading, illegal for Olympic athletes, involves freezing a quantity of blood and then injecting it back into a person before exercise, thus increasing the volume of blood in the body and increasing endurance.
"The review was to determine whether or not the substances were safe and whether they would [help] a soldier who has to stay awake for a long period of time, or assist an airman who needs to sleep after a long mission," said DSTO spokesman Brian Humphreys.
"Although many of the substances are now banned in sport, different notions of fair play apply for the military," said an article on the research in the Australian Defense Science magazine.
"Any substance or technique that can improve the endurance, speed, or strength of an [Australian Defense Force] member and assist them to complete an operation should be considered for use as long as it is proven to be safe and effective."
The article did not say what the other countries involved in the research planned to do with the findings.
The scientists ruled out steroids and other harmful drugs.
"All's fair in love and war," senior DSTO nutritionist Chris Forbes-Ewan told the Sydney Morning Herald. "What we are trying to gain is an advantage over any potential adversary."
Humphreys said the report recommended the use of performance-enhancing substances, which are legally available, but no formal decision had been made by the army.
Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited.
