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2010/13: Should the AFL prohibit players' use of caffeine and sleeping pills?
2010/13: Should the AFL prohibit players' use of caffeine and sleeping pills?
What they said...
'I just don't really see what this issue is'
Brisbane Lion's coach Michael Voss
'It is a very bad look when role models are actually doing this'
World Anti-doping Agency president John Fahey
The issue at a glance
On July 5, 2010, Richmond midfielder, Ben Cousins, was hospitalised after having had an adverse reaction to sleeping tablets.
Cousins is notorious for his previous drug use and has been making a well-publicised attempt to remain drug-free since beginning to play with Richmond.
The episode has prompted a great deal of speculation and discussion about the supposed inter-related use of caffeine and sleeping tablets by AFL players. It has been claimed that caffeine is used as a performance-enhancer and then sleeping tablets are used by players whose caffeine stimulated state makes it difficult for them to sleep.
There are those who claim that the general response to Ben Cousin's hospitalisation has been exaggerated. Others have argued that the AFL needs to extend its anti-doping drugs policy to include caffeine and take steps to limit players use of sleeping tablets.
The Victoria Premier, Mr Brumby, has publicly expressed regret at the poor example the use of 'uppers' and 'downers' by AFL players sets for others in the community.
Background
The AFL has two drug policies -
1. The AFL's 1990 Anti-doping code which tests for performance enhancing drugs 365 days a year (this is the same as all other sports in Australia)
The anti-doping procedures involve sample collection (also known as doping control or drug testing). Sample collection detects the use of a prohibited substance, or prohibited method, by an athlete.
Sample collection consists of testing by an anti-doping organisation and sample analysis, by a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Sample collection can be either in-competition or out-of-competition (such as at an athlete's training venue or home). The majority of testing is carried out with no-advance-notice. The test can involve the collection of urine, blood or both.
Athletes must comply with a valid request for testing. Athletes may face sanctions if they refuse to comply. The penalty for refusing to provide a sample upon a valid request may be the same as providing a sample that contains a prohibited substance.
The AFL's drug testing program complies with the World Anti-Doping Code, the International Standard for Testing, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Regulations 2006 including the National Anti-Doping (NAD) scheme, and the International Organization for Standardization 9001:2008 Standard for Quality Management System.
The AFL supports WADA's Prohibited List which states all those performance-enhancing substances which an athlete is not to take. A full copy of the 2008 Prohibited List can be found at http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/2008_List_En.pdf
2. The AFL's Illicit Drugs Policy which was introduced in 2005.
AFL players are also tested to ensure they are not taking any drug which it is illegal to use in Australia.
In 2008, the AFL adopted a series of improvements and enhancements to its out-of-competition Illicit Drugs Policy.
A trial of hair sample testing is conducted when AFL players return from their holiday period. Other policy changes included a further increase in testing of up to 1500 tests every year and the penalty for a third failed test extended to a maximum of 18 weeks, up from 12 weeks.
Effects of caffeine on the performance of athletes
Caffeine is an ergogenic, increasing the capacity for mental or physical labor. A study conducted in 1979 showed a 7% increase in distance cycled over a period of two hours in subjects who consumed caffeine compared to control tests. Other studies attained much more dramatic results; one particular study of trained runners showed a 44% increase in 'race-pace' endurance, as well as a 51% increase in cycling endurance, after a dosage of 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight.
The extensive boost shown in these runners is not an isolated case; additional studies have reported similar effects. Another study found 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high intensity circuits.
However, further studies have indicated that if consumed in too great a quality caffeine can actually reduce the quality of an athlete's performance.
Caffeine has not been on WADA's Prohibited List since 2004.
Internet information
OnMay 12, 2005, the ABC published a report focusing on the views of two West Australian doctors expressing concern that the use of caffeine by sportspeople was setting a bad example for other young Australians. The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/05/12/1367384.htm
On July 6, 2010, the Brisbane Courier Mail published a news report which includes quotes from ALF doctor Peter Larkins commenting on the extent of caffeine use and its dangers. The report can be found at http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/ben-cousinss-bitter-pill/story-e6frepf6-1225888247956
On July 6, 2010, The AFL New carried a report detailing the views of Sydney Swans defender Tadhg Kennelly. Mr Kennelly indicated that though he did not use caffeine products himself, he understood why some other players might do so. The full text of this report can be found athttp://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/97635/default.aspx
On July 7, 2010, Samantha Lane, writing for The Age's football supplement Real Footy, produced a report giving a range of expert opinion on the extent of the use of caffeine by footballers. The full text of this article can be found at http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/legal-supplements-part-of-sport-today-players-boss-20100706-zz0z.html
On July 7, 2010, GWN Televison's Internet site published a report based largely on an interview with Geelong coach Mark Thompson. Mr Thompson expresses his concerns about players' use of caffeine tablets and sleeping pills. He notes that they are not regularly used by Geelong players but expresses his concern that they are used by others. The full text of the report can be found at http://karratha.igwn.com.au/index.php/sport/afl/thompson-pills-for-dills,21445161
On July 7, 2010, The West Australian published a report examining the extent of caffeine use among AFL players, some of it directly encouraged by clubs. The full text of this report can be found at http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7533594/caffeine-legal-but-doubt-cast-on-its-use/
On July 8, 2010, ABC Radio's current affairs program AM presented a report which included an interview with World Anti-Doping Agency head John Fahey. Mr Fahey expressed his concerns about the health risks associated with excessive use of caffeine. The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s2947783.htm?site=riverland
Arguments in favour of the AFL prohibiting players' use of caffeine and sleeping pills
1. Sleeping pills and caffeine can be injurious to players
Depending on the type of sleeping pill used they can have a variety of side-effects. In addition to common side effects like dry mouth, dizziness, sleepiness the next morning, diarrhea, rashes, nausea and vomiting these drugs have some potentially serious dangers - decreased sex drive, chest pain, abdominal pain and light-headedness.
Other possible side-effects include nausea, headache, dizziness and prolonged drowsiness are common side effects of these drugs. Light-headedness, abnormal sense of well being, episodes of amnesia, allergic reactions, facial swelling, abnormal sleep behaviors, weakness of muscles, coordination problems, low blood pressure, blurred vision, and liver failure are further serious adverse effects.
Taken in too large a dosage or in combination with other drugs including alcohol sleeping pills can cause death.
Patients suffering with depression and addicted individuals are at particular risk with these drugs.
Too much caffeine, especially over an extended period of time, can lead to a number of physical and mental conditions. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) states, 'The 4 caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders include caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).'
An overdose of caffeine can result in a state termed caffeine intoxication or caffeine poisoning. Its symptoms are both physiological and psychological. Symptoms of caffeine intoxication include: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis, muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, paranoia, cardiac arrhythmia or tachycardia, and psychomotor agitation, gastrointestinal complaints, increased blood pressure, rapid pulse, vasoconstriction (tightening or constricting of superficial blood vessels) sometimes resulting in cold hands or fingers, increased amounts of fatty acids in the blood, and an increased production of gastric acid. In extreme cases mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, loss of social inhibition, delusions, hallucinations and psychosis may occur.
It is commonly assumed that only a small proportion of people exposed to caffeine develop symptoms of caffeine intoxication. However, because it mimics organic mental disorders, such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, a growing number of medical professionals believe caffeine-intoxicated people are routinely misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated.
Because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. It can also lead to nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching, insomnia and heart palpitations.
2. Players taking 'uppers' and 'downers' is not a positive image for the AFL to be promoting
It has been argued that an image of alternately taking caffeine 'uppers' and sleeping pills as 'downers' is not a positive image for the AFL to promote. Elite sportsmen are regarded as role models by many young people and so to have them behave in this manner is undesirable.
The substances some footballers are taking are legally available and, especially in the cae of caffeine tablets they are very easily available and able to be purchaeswithout a prescription. This means there is the real possibility that children and adolescents might consume caffeine supplements in imitation of their football heroes.
The Victorian premier, John Brumby, has stated, 'I think what's come out through this general debate is amongst footballers there's obviously plenty that would appear to take legal drugs; No-Doz before a game and something to put them to sleep after.
Those drugs are legal, but I don't think they send a good example.'
In terms of the imitative behaviour of some young footballers, a Perth high school employee has stated that junior footballers, as young as 14, have taken caffeine pills to enhance their performance during training sessions. The source stated that a 14-year-old boy had been taken to hospital during the last school term after crushing 10 tablets of No-Doz caffeine, adding the powder to a popular caffeine-based energy drink and sharing it with his local football club teammates.
World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey has stated,'It is a very bad look when role models are actually doing this. The example, in my view is very, very bad for young sports people. I would certainly say to medical staff of these professional clubs that they ought to have a damned good look at the impact of trying to get some advantage through taking caffeine.'
3. These two products can become a destructive cycle
It has been claimed that footballers using caffeine supplements to try to get a competitive edge and then taking sleeping tablets so that they are able to sleep can become a destructive cycle from which it is difficult to break out.
Paul Dillon, from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, has noted that a cocktail of stimulants and depressants could have an unpredictable impact on the body.
Mr Dillon stated, 'People use caffeinated pills for stimulant purposes, to keep them awake, to get their heart rate pumping.
The situation with sportsman is that the heart's pumping, they're going out there in front of crowds of 50-60,000 people, you're event going to be more pumped, then add on to that you're winning a game. Bang, you're really going to be pumping.
This is the old cycle of uppers and downers, taking something to get you going, and then once you actually are over that, take something to knock you out again. That's a very dangerous road to travel.'
4. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is considering banning caffeine
John Fahey, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has indicated that the organisation's medical committee could place caffeine back on the banned substances list amid fresh concerns over its effect on athletes.
Mr Fahey stated, 'It concerns me from the point of view of, firstly, the health of athletes. Anything that's taken in large quantities, you have to be a little bit concerned about the impact it might have on the health of an athlete.
But it [caffeine] is at this point of time not on the prohibited list of the WADA code and therefore there is nothing against it from the point of view of breaching that code.
Every year that committee meets, it considers what evidence there is available and it gets that evidence from the laboratories around the world.
It will consider it [the status of caffeine], as it has for the last few years. That doesn't mean it will be necessarily put back on the prohibited list, but it will be considered again this year in September.'
5. Some clubs have openly promoted the use of caffeine
It has been claimed that at least since 2004, when caffeine was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list, many football players and clubs have used the substance extensively as a way of legally enhancing onfield performance.
In May 2010 a photograph was printed of a Brisbane trainer handing out caffeine pills during a half-time break. The image was very badly received by a variety of sport experts who stressed the health dangers of excessive caffeine use.
Former Geelong team doctor and commentator, Peter Larkins, has stated, 'I almost fell off my chair. Here we are trying to promote sport and I thought it was a horrible thing for people watching at home to see elite footballers using it. They'd be thinking "why couldn't my kids use it".'
Dr Larkins further stated, 'Club doctors argue they have to get the best out of players and they're not breaking the rules, but I think behind the scenes the AFL will have some discussions with clubs about the combination of stimulants and sedatives.' However he hopes that this recent publicity will alter how clubs use caffeine. Dr Larkins hopes, 'There has to be some message come out of this Cousins story.'
The Australian Medical Association suggested that doctors who supported handing out caffeine tablets before and during games were not acting in the players' best interests.
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.
Further implications
It seems unlikely that the AFL will prohibit the use of either caffeine or sleeping tablets. What is likely to occur is that all clubs will become rigorous in the way in which they monitor their players use of both caffeine and sleeping tablets.
Some clubs have officially stated that they are already very careful about their players' caffeine consumption and their sleeping tablet use.
West Coast coach, John Worsfold, who is a qualified pharmacist, has stated, 'There's very strict medical guidelines around the use of caffeine to make sure it's safe and players are at no risk of any harm.
If players are using caffeine tablets, they use it within those medical strict guidelines. If players want to use caffeine tablets they don't supply it themselves, it's given to them with strict guidelines.
They're counselled on it, they're counselled on the effects of it, and then it's their choice.'
This appears to be the approach the AFL as a whole is likely to adopt.
Given that neither caffeine nor sleeping tablets are illegal, nor prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, it seems likely that the AFL's approach will be an extension of what some clubs claim is happening now. Players will be supplied with detailed information on the effects of caffeine and what are safe dosages. They will also be supplied with information on the effects of sleeping tablets, their potential hazards and the dangers of combining them with alcohol or other medication.
If, after being supplied with such information, a player chooses to use either caffeine or sleeping tablets then the choice is likely to be his.
What is likely, is that any systematic use of either caffeine supplements or sleeping tablets by a particular club will cease. It has been claimed that some clubs have actively encouraged their players to take caffeine supplements and that some coaches have actually distributed them. If this is true, given the current negative publicity surrounding the issue, the practice is unlikely to continue.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has indicated that it is going to reconsider the status of caffeine. Were WADA to reimpose a ban on caffeine then the AFL would similarly prohibit the substance as it abides completely by WADA's Prohibited List. However, it seems unlikely that WADA will ban caffeine.
Individuals metabolise caffeine at different rates; this makes testing for caffeine levels quite problematic. It is also the case that significant amounts of caffeine can be consumed in legally available drinks and foods. This means that a player's caffeine levels could be elevated at the time of testing without his having deliberately taken supplements intended to enhance his onfield performance.
Recent news reports have indicated that some medical authorities are concerned about the effect of high-caffeine drinks, particularly when consumed with alcohol. Caffeine-based energy drinks are banned in France, Denmark and Norway. There are more than five hundred of such drinks available in Australia where the energy drink industry is worth some $180 million annually. Any move to ban these drinks is likely to be fought by the industry.
There is also the possibility that the sale of caffeine tablets to the general community will be regulated. They are currently available without restriction and some pharmacists have noted a surge in their sale since the publicity resulting from the Ben Cousins incident.
Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
The Herald-Sun: July 8, page 30, editorial, `Pill problems'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/editorials/pill-problems/story-e6frfhqo-1225889144259
The Herald-Sun: July 8, page 2, news item by Aaron Langmaid, `Stimulants all the rage'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/grassroots-football-clubs-to-seek-clearer-guidelines-on-stimulants/story-e6frf9jf-1225889190552
The Australian: July 8, page 13, editorial, `Up (and down) there, Cazaly'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/up-and-down-there-cazaly/story-e6frg71x-1225889146739
The Australian: July 8, page 1, news item (photo) by Stephen Rielly, `Cousins "got the dosage wrong" with powerful sedative'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/ben-cosuins-admits-its-been-a-big-wake-up-call/story-e6frg7mf-1225889155142
The Age: July 8, Sports section, page 2, news item (photo of Grant Thomas) by Samantha Lane, `Thomas regrets "desperate" mix'. (video included in online version)
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/thomas-regrets-desperate-mix-20100707-100ls.html?autostart=1
The Age: July 8, page 1, news item by Dan Silkstone, `Stop the caffeine, drug chief tells AFL'. (video included in online version)
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/stop-the-caffeine-world-drug-chief-tells-afl-20100707-100lq.html
The Herald-Sun: July 7, page 30, editorial, `Footy's bitter pill exposed'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/editorials/footys-bitter-pill-exposed/story-e6frfhqo-1225888674978
The Herald-Sun: July 7, page 5, news item (photos) by Padraic Murphy, `Players' use of tablets dangerous'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/players-use-of-tablets-dangerous/story-e6frf7jo-1225888707368
The Herald-Sun: July 7, page 5, news item by Aaron Langmaid, `"Don't kick him when he's down"'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/dont-kick-him-when-hes-down-says-underworld-kingpin-john-kizon/story-e6frf7jo-1225888707265
The Herald-Sun: July 7, page 5, news item (photo) by Jon Ralph, `Cousins confused by strong pills' (with vox pop comments). (Different item title in online version. Online has video)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ben-cousins-confused-by-strong-pills/story-e6frf9io-1225888709048
The Australian: July 7, page 3, news item by Stephen Rielly, `Fog still clouding Cousins's drugs "mishap"'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/fog-still-clouding-cousinss-drugs-mishap/story-e6frg6nf-1225888698418
The Age: July 7, Sport section, page 2, analysis by Caroline Wilson, `Tigers unlikely to re-sign Cousins'. (Video included in online version)
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-unlikely-to-resign-cousins-20100706-zz0y.html
The Age: July 7, Sport section, page 2, news item by Samantha Lane, `Legal supplements part of sport today: players' boss'.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/legal-supplements-part-of-sport-today-players-boss-20100706-zz0z.html
The Age: July 7, page 1, news item by Michael Gleeson, `Mixture of drugs habitual in AFL'. (video included in online version)
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/drug-mixture-habitual-for-afl-footballers-20100706-zz0w.html
The Herald-Sun: July 6, page 7, news item (with photos, chronology of events) by Ralph and Langmaid, `Tigers probe star's scare'. (video included in online version)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/tigers-probe-ben-cousins-health-scare/story-e6frf7l6-1225888286046
The Herald-Sun: July 6, page 7, analysis by Marianne Betts, `Tablets do not mix with anything'.
http://m.news.com.au/VIC/pg/0/fi542569.htm;jsessionid=A40496A5D8314437ADA1018997F549A9
The Herald-Sun: July 6, page 77, background by Jon Ralph, `Career slips quietly into intensive care'. (video comment included in online version)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/career-quietly-slips-into-intensive-care/story-e6frf9jf-1225888266737
The Herald-Sun: July 6, page 77, news item (with boxed information on drugs used by players) by Jon Ralph et al, `Wake up to risk'.
http://m.news.com.au/AFL/pg/0/fi542598.htm
The Age: July 6, page 1, news item (photos) by Caroline Wilson, `Cousins under sedation, unconscious, in danger'.
http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/general/cousins-under-sedation-unconscious-in-danger/1877278.aspx
