With the new arrival of popularized Smart drugs and brain pills, a lot of controversy about these products are affecting more than just the consumer, but also those that follow the eSports scene. With promises of improving brain performance, such as sharpening memory and improving cognitive function. Although there is not a any kind of pill that can make this happen in one dose, however a new class of brain performance drugs called nootropics exist.
Nootropics are different from many drugs that were previously used ( sometimes abused) for boosting brain performance for a few reasons. First , many nootropics are not officially considered drugs, which would need a prescription from a doctor, but in stead are considered supplements. Being considered as supplements, these pills do not have to follow FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) guidelines. Another reason that these nootropics are different from many prescription drugs available, such as Ritalin and Adderal, is because of dosage requirements and possible addiction . With prescription drugs, over time a user will become tolerant of the dosage that that is prescribed, requiring that the person using the medication to make a scheduled appointment and get the doctors approval for increasing the dosage needed for the drug to work, many. However, with nootropics there is no dosage guidelines that would be used to evaluate what amount of drug or supplement a single person would need, let alone how much a single person should take that would either be considered safe or harmful. With this being said, it is also seen that with prescription medications, addiction to the chemicals in prescription medications occurs. However, because of FDA regulations with prescription drugs, the knowledge of whether these medications have possibilities for long term addiction and health issues are known. Without these regulations , nootropics are left to chance whether they will help you or accidentally put you in the hospital, these new supplements are creating a new controversy around the competitive gaming industry.
Just like with normal sports played today, where drug use for boosting performance is in most cases deemed illegal, competitive gaming is also seeing this issue arise. Competitive gaming, also know as eSports, is a competitive area where instead of performing feats of physical excellence, teams of people will compete over a digital medium to become number one. But just like normal sports, eSports have followed suit to make sure everyone is playing fairly. Competitors have to undergo drug screening to prevent the use of known drugs that can affect a players performance. However, with the notice that nootropics are making their way onto the eSport scene and are not FDA regulated, is there a legal way now to improve a players performance? While many participants at eSport events may admit to drinking an energy drink or two, what is to say that this is not cheating in some form or fashion?
Sources of informtaion:
Burks, Z. (2016, April 25). E-Sports and Smart Drugs | How Gamers Are Unlocking Their Brain. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from https://nusups.com/blogs/brainfacts/104500870-e-sports-and-smart-drugs-how-gamers-are-unlocking-their-brain