the problem with Propecia is that it can act as a masking agent

The legendary footballer Romario has had his appeal to The Brazilian Supreme Court of Sporting Justice thrown out. The footballer who was found to have traces of the Propecia hair loss drug in a routine doping test has been banned from the game until April 05, 2008. This is of great concern to him because it means that he will miss a lot of important games for his club Vasco da Gama.

Romario is primarily famous for having played for a winning Brazilian world cup team and is treated with great reverence in his home country. Despite being 41 years old he still is fit and healthy and his club still wants him to play for them. It appears that Romario’s legendary football career is going to end on a bad note all because he used a hair loss medication that he had no idea was forbidden for use by professional sportsman.

You may think that it is a little confusing that a hair loss medication should not be allowed to be used to by professional sportsman but the problem with Propecia is that it can act as a masking agent for other illegal substances. So the issue that doping authorities have with Propecia is not that it can affect performance in any way on its own but only that it can stop the identification of other performance enhancing substances in routine doping tests.

If you play professional sports you must be extremely careful before you use any medication as you could end up getting banned from your respective sport.  Many weight loss drugs are also banned for use by professional sportsmen and you should always check with the relevant authorities before using any medications. It may be that if you inform your doping authority that you wish to take Propecia they will give you permission to use it.