Right: Sleeping pills are used by some footballers to "come down" from an exciting time, such as a hard-fought match. However, the "down" effect of these prescription drugs is often countered by the use of "up" drugs - again legal - the following day.
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.Arguments against the AFL prohibiting players' use of caffeine and sleeping pills
1. Neither caffeine nor sleeping pills are prohibited in the general community
It has been claimed that it is inconsistent and hypocritical to prohibit AFL players from taking substances that are legally available to any member of the general public.
On May 19, 2010, The West Australian published an opinion piece by Gareth Parker. Parker noted. 'When it's all said and done, I just can't get a handle on public opinion on drugs in the AFL. I don't understand the hysteria, and I don't understand the bloodlust - the desire to see footballers punished out of proportion to the rest of society.'
A number of players have defended their use of caffeine before a game by noting that the substance is not illegal. Sydney Swans defender Tadhg Kennelly has stated, 'I have a cup of coffee before the game and it gives you a bit of pep in your step. It's not illegal.'
Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss has also questioned why there has been so much attention given a substance like caffeine which is legal and whose performance-enhancing effect is uncertain.
Mr Voss has stated, 'Caffeine is a legal substance. The last time I checked, a 12 year-old could still buy coffee at a coffee shop.
I did (use caffeine tablets) for a while and found no benefit from it whatsoever. I just don't really see what this issue is.
We have doctors and they are there and play a critical role in what we do. I put my trust in them.'
AFL chief executive Matt Finnis has said he had no reason to believe that footballers were jeopardising their health when using legal stimulants or sedatives under the guidance of club doctors.
2. The AFL does not have a drug problem
It has been claimed that the AFL has been very successful in both limiting the use of performance-enhancing drugs and in restricting players' use of illicit recreational drugs.
The AFL has a regular drug-testing regime. The Australian Sports Ant-Doping Agency has the power to require any player to supply a blood or urine sample at any time. Failure to comply without a reasonable excuse can get an athlete banned.
Testing, which has been going on for five years now, continues to show that AFL players use drugs of all sorts in a lower proportion to the wider community. In May 2010, the AFL announced that only ten players had tested positive for illegal recreational drugs during 2009. Should a player test positive, the AFL requires them to seek treatment from a medical professional in the first instance. Should they test positive on two further occasions they will be suspended from the competition.
In regard to performance enhancing drugs, the AFL complies fully with its anti-doping obligations and as a result the AFL does not have a problem with steroids scandals of the type that have affected the Tour de France, Major League Baseball and the NFL.
It has been claimed that in the face of this level of success in prohibiting the use of recognised performance-enhancing drugs and illicit recreational drugs it is both excessive and unnecessary to try to restrict players' use of caffeine and sleeping tablets.
3. Caffeine and sleeping pills are not extensively used by players
It has been claimed that neither sleeping tablets nor caffeine are used extensively by AFL players.
AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson has claimed that caffeine and sleeping tablet usage is not common among players.
Mr Anderson has stated, 'The most important thing here is it's been perhaps wrongly portrayed that there is a far greater use of these things, particularly if I'm talking about the issue of caffeine tablets and sleeping tablets.
We've spoken to our medical officers, who monitor these things through the ASADA doping controls. They say it's extremely rare that an AFL player will take caffeine, or NoDoz, and sleeping tablets - very rare.
The fundamental premise that's what happening across the AFL is wrong.'
Mr Anderson has noted that AFL footballers are professional sportspeople and can readily go to their club doctor to discuss the use of caffeine or sleeping tablets.
Mr Anderson has stated, 'Our AFL players are under constant medical supervision ... [and would] never take sleeping tablets without proper medical supervision by a doctor. Our doctors' fundamental concern at the clubs is the welfare of their players.
People should never assume it's OK to take any of these things without proper medical supervision, that's not what's happening at the AFL level to their best of our knowledge.'
Doctor Andrew Jowett, a doctor for the Collingwood Football Club until last year, has claimed that it was rare, in his time at the club, for him to administer sleeping tablets. Dr Jowett has stated, 'There were maybe four or five in the team who would take them routinely and there might be one who'd approach me after a game.'
4. Sleeping tablets may be necessary for some AFL players, especially after night games
It has been claimed that the adrenaline rush associated with competitive sport may make it very difficult for some ALF players to sleep. It has been further noted that playing in night games can further disrupt a player's sleeping patterns. Under these circumstances it has claimed that it is quite reasonable for some AFL players to make use of sleeping tablets.
St Kilda midfielder, Lenny Hayes, has stated, 'With the sleeping tablets, it can be very hard to unwind; again, it's not something personally that I use every week, but occasionally, when you're lying in bed late and night and you need some sleep, and you've got a short break before the next game, it is something I've used in the past.
And again, it depends on the individual - some guys have no worries after a game, they're pretty tired and get to sleep, but other guys, you're wound up, you've had a really good win, it can be hard to get that sleep.'
Samantha Lane, writing for The Age in an opinion piece published on July 6, 2010, noted, 'When it comes to footballers, sleeping pills and night matches ... Without the help of prescriptive drugs, players can find themselves still pulsating with adrenaline in the early hours of the following day.'
The same point has been made by Sydney Swans defender Tadhg Kennelly. Mr Kennelly has stated, 'I've never taken [sleeping tablets] and I don't think any player [at the Swans] has taken them, but I can understand why players would.
t could be three, four o'clock in the morning, maybe five o'clock some mornings when I get to sleep after a game. Your adrenaline's pumping and you've got all this going through your mind, it's impossible to slow your mind down.
Generally, I go home and have two glasses of red wine and I'm out, but sometimes you just can't stop your mind from racing and you can understand why players would take it.'
Doctor Hugh Seward, the executive officer of the league's Medical Officers Association, has stated,'Players often comment after a night game that it's hard to settle down and get to sleep. Sometimes before even two in the morning. Some players find it more difficult when they're out of their normal bed and travelling interstate, so they're the two situations I suppose when it would be more likely [that sleeping tablets are used], but I don't think it's common.'
5. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) does not prohibit the taking of caffeine
The World Anti-Doping Agency removed caffeine from its list of banned substances in 2004. However, caffeine has been included in WADA's Monitoring Program. This program includes substances which are not prohibited in sport, but which WADA monitors in order to detect patterns of misuse.
Arguments that led WADA's stakeholders to take caffeine off the (prohibited) List in 2004 included research indicating that caffeine is performance-decreasing above the 12 microgram/ml threshold that was historically used in sport. This means WADA considered it unlikely that caffeine would be taken to excess as this would reduce sporting performance.
In addition, caffeine is metabolized at very different rates in individuals. Many experts believe that
because caffeine is included in so many beverages and foods, reducing the threshold in order to unmask cheaters might lead to athletes being punished for normal social or dietary consumption of
caffeine.