Neco Padaratz, a surfer from Brazil, remains to be one person that has ever been caught taking steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals

Anabolic steroids are taken by surfers too. Sport governing body claims that prohibited products are a significant problem in this sport. That’s why the Association of Surfing Professionals made a decision to implicate testing for anabolic steroids and other prohibited medications that are used for increase of performance.
The Association of Surfing Professionals had some discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They asked how they could implicate testing for prohibited products into surfing. Since anti-doping program of the WADA is claimed to be the best policy, the surfing organization wants to use this protocol. Of course, this is the next victory of the WADA that induces the opportunity to control anti-doping programs in sports.
Everybody knows that surfing is a competitive sport. So, strength, speed and endurance are principal skills which induce winning. So, surfers could believe that intake of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs contributes in success greatly. It is also necessary to take in consideration that amount of money that is obtained by winners is large. Winners get no less than 100, 000 dollars. Desire to receive money could lead surfers to decision to take anabolic steroids.
Nonetheless, it is said that usage of anabolic steroids and other preparations which cause performance-enhancing effects is not widespread in surfing. Many individuals believe that intake of recreational drugs is more widespread among surfers than administration of steroids. Sport of 1970s and 1980s was oftan associated with marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Current facts justify this impression. The number of surfers that are caught using marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine is quite enhanced.
The professional surfer Andi Irons died in November 2010. A heart attack that he had was caused by drug abuse. It was defined that steroids hadn’t been involved in this fatal case. Traces of methamphetamine, cocaine and methadone metabolites were found in his body.
Another surfer, Peter Davi, died in December 2007. High levels of meth were also found in his system.
As for Anthony Ruffo, another professional surfer, he was caught selling meth.
Only Neco Padaratz, a professional surfer from Brazil, was caught taking steroids. He was sentenced to one-year ban. This person tested positive for forbidden products in 2004. This person claimed that he had administrated these medicines to receive a full recovery from back injuries. In spite of his defense, he was sentenced to a ban. He was the first individual who was caught using steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals. According to many reports, he remains to be the only surfer who has ever been caught by the ASP.
The ASP has already the initial budget to introduce the WADA steroid program into surfing.
Although it is unlikely that steroids represent a problem in surfing, the new anti-doping program can create a wrong public impression.