General practitioner knowledge of prohibited substances in sport

Objectives-To assess general practitioner knowledge of banned substances in sport. Methods-Postal questionnaire sent to all general practitioners in West Sussex. Results-Only 55 (35%) of those who responded (157 in total) were aware that guidelines are to be found in the British National Formulary, and 19 (12%) of respondents believed that medical practitioners are allowed to prescribe anabolic steroids for non-medical reasons. Conclusions-General practitioner knowledge of which substances are prohibited in sports is poor. There is a lack of awareness of Sports Council guidelines which are to be found in the British National Formulary. Tackling drug abuse in sport requires education of both athletes and doctors.