From the time that athletics started, athletes have been the role models of many young and old. Since the first sporting events ever till today there has always been injuries even with the advances in equipment. An injury in any form of athletics is obviously going to happen. The question is how can an athlete perform at his or her best if they are hurt or injured? Many professional athletes are prescribed pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs for their aches and pains. Do these “magic pills” that they are taking cause any side effects or dependency? The answer is yes.
Not only is prescription drug abuse common in the world of sports it is becoming an every day occurrence in America with normal everyday people. An estimated 9 million people in America used prescription medicine for non medical reasons in 1999. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicated that the most dramatic increase in new users of prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes occurs between 12-to-17 and 18-to-25 years of age. With prescription drug use among teens on the rise it is only time before it hits the small town of Ripley. The pills are not only addictive they cause liv
Do people think that using prescription drugs is acceptable since professional athletes use them daily, or do they use them to get high? High school athletes are the role models of many young children. Children like to imitate their role models, so what would you think if children started taking pain killers because their role models take them. The media is trying to make the public aware of the dangers of prescription drug abuse by running ads on the radio and on TV. As long as there are sports there will be injuries and if athletes abuse pain medication to cope with these injuries do you want them to be the role models for the youth of America?
The hit ESPN television show Playmakers showcased what these pills can do to you. The quarterback on the show was addicted to painkillers and he mentions how his life expectancy is 18 years shorter than the average American male. He also mentions how he must take the pills to be able to play the next week and how he is not getting paid to sit on the sidelines; he is paid to play at all cost even if it is hazardous to his health. The team doctor ran various tests on him and shows the horrors of the drugs as his liver is not
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