At Ukmedix News we always advise athletes to be extremely vigilant

Not that many people realize that the use of weight loss medication is not allowed if you are a professional athlete. The common perception is that because weight loss drugs are not "performance enhancing" in themselves they therefore are allowed to be used but this is not the case as the South African cricketer Vaughn van Jaarsveld found out recently when he tested positive for the appetite suppressant Reductil.

The CEO of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Mr. Tony Irish rallied to the support of Vaughn van Jaarsveld by saying that they did not believe he had violated any of the doping rules because the medication had been prescribed to him by his doctor.

At Ukmedix News what we really want to know is why Mr. Van Jaarsveld was prescribed Reductil in the first place because as a fit athlete he should not have been using obesity medication. It is hardly likely that he qualified as being obese as he would need a BMI of 30 plus and therefore person who should be under real scrutiny is the prescribing doctor.

Mr. Van Jaarsveld who was selected to play in two one-day internationals as well as three Twenty20s for the South African cricket team in 2009 against Australia was obviously badly advised. Is it really possible that no one in South Africa read in the papers about the Romanian football player Adrian Mutu who got a nine month playing ban after using the same medication?

At Ukmedix News we always advise athletes to be extremely vigilant about any medications they take and especially to stay away from so-called 'natural' 'herbal' or 'traditional' dietary supplements because they are increasingly becoming laced with powerful prescription drugs and it is no good pleading your innocence at a WADA tribunal and saying that you had no idea what you were taking.