¹The period commencing at 11:59 p.m. on the day before a Competition in which the Athlete is scheduled to participate through the end of such Competition and the Sample collection process related to such Competition. Provided, however, WADA may approve, for a particular sport, an alternative definition if an International Federation provides a compelling justification that a different definition is necessary for its sport; upon such approval by WADA, the alternative definition shall be followed by all Major Event Organizations for that particular sport. (p169 WADA Code 2021).
²Any other time that is not In-Competition.
To assist you, whether you’re an athlete or an Athlete Support Person, in fulfilling your anti-doping responsibilities and navigating substances and methods, please explore the following resources:
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Substances and methods are included on the Prohibited List if they meet two of the following three criteria:
For example, tramadol was added to the Prohibited List in 2024 as it can cause side effects such as physical dependence, opiate addiction and overdose issues which are a risk to athlete health and studies confirmed that it has the potential to enhance performance in certain activities.
Substances or methods which mask the effect or detection of prohibited substances are also prohibited. In addition, a substance which has not been approved for human use, which also meets two of the three criteria, is likely to be prohibited as well.
The WADA Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group who are scientific, medical and anti-doping experts, are responsible for providing expert advice, recommendations and guidance to the WADA Health, Medical and Research Committee on the overall publication, management and maintenance of the Prohibited List.
The Prohibited List is divided into three categories:
In-Competition is the period from 11:59pm the night before a competition until the end of that competition or associated doping control, whichever occurs last.
WADA may approve an alternative definition if an International Federation (IF) can justify this is necessary in their sport.
Substances which are prohibited in particular sports are included in a specific section of the Prohibited List. Check this now, and annually on the 1st of January in case of any changes to see if your sport is included.
Substances included on the Prohibited List can be found in some medications (both prescription and over-the-counter), supplements and recreational drugs.
The ITA has created specific pages with information and practical advice on each of these topics to support athletes to avoid an inadvertent Anti-Doping Rule Violation, check them out!
The washout period is the time between the last dose of a substance and the start of the In-Competition period, which begins at 11:59 p.m. the day before a scheduled competition, unless WADA has approved a different timeframe for a specific sport.
For any substance prohibited in-competition, an athlete must consult their medical professional on the washout period as the substance must have left an athlete’s system by the start of the In-Competition period.
Methods included on the Prohibited List are prohibited at all times (In- and Out-of-Competition).
The categories of prohibited methods are:
Manipulation of blood and blood components (M1)
This category refers to blood doping, which includes adding or reintroducing blood or red blood cell products. It also includes enhancing how the body uses oxygen and the manipulation of blood or blood components.
Chemical and physical manipulation (M2)
Tampering, or attempting to tamper, with a sample collected during Doping Control by, for example, substituting or altering urine is in this category.
Additionally, Intravenous infusions or injections over 100 mL in a 12-hour period are prohibited, unless they are part of legitimate medical treatment.
Gene and cell doping (M3)
This category refers to using nucleic acids or cell modification to enhance sport performance.
The Prohibited List is updated at least annually on the 1st January. The new Prohibited List is published on the WADA website three months prior to it coming into force.
In exceptional circumstances, a substance or method can be added to the Prohibited List at any time, but any change would be communicated three months in advance.
If a substance or method is included on the WADA Monitoring Program it means that it is not on the Prohibited List, but that WADA wishes to monitor in order to detect patterns of use or misuse in sport.
Athletes may still use substances and methods on the Monitoring Program without risk of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
A route of administration is the way a substance is administered to an athlete, in other words, how the substance gets into the body.
Examples of routes of administration include intravenous injections or infusions (IV), inhalation (using an inhaler), oral (tablet, capsule, liquid), rectal (suppository), topical (cream), nasal (nose spray or drops), and ophthalmic (eye drops).
Some routes of administration for specific substances are prohibited in sport – these are indicated on the Prohibited List.
All intravenous injections or infusions (IV) are prohibited when administered in volumes over 100ml in a 12-hour period (both In- and Out-of-Competition), even if the substance itself is not prohibited. Intravenous administration of volumes less than 100ml in a 12-hour period are not prohibited (if the substance itself is not prohibited).
For example, a 500ml saline solution containing a medication for intravenous administration administered over 30 minutes would be prohibited since the volume is more than 100ml given within a 12-hour period. The only exception to this is when an intravenous injection or infusion (IV) is legitimately received in the course of hospital treatments, surgical procedures or clinical diagnostic investigations.
This means that the substance needs to be found in a high enough level in the body (above a threshold level) to be reported as an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
Both Specified and Non-Specified Substances and Methods are included on the Prohibited List and the strict liability rule applies, but this classification is important in any sanctioning process.
A Specified Substance or Method is considered more likely to have been used by an athlete for reasons unrelated to enhancing performance, which potentially allows under defined conditions, for a greater reduction in sanction if an athlete tests positive.
A Non-Specified Substance or Method is considered more likely to be used for the purposes of enhancing performance. Sanctions are generally longer for this category.
Alcohol is not on the Prohibited List.
However, in some sports alcohol is prohibited by the rules of the sport. Therefore, athletes must check their sport specific rules around alcohol use.
Substances of Abuse are prohibited substances which are frequently abused in society outside of the context of sport. Substances in this category are:
These substances are prohibited in-competition, but sometimes out-of-competition use can be detected in a sample taken In-competition and result in an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF). If an athlete can show that the use of any of these four substances was Out-of-Competition and unrelated to sport performance the suspension will be three months and may be reduced to one month if the athlete completes an approved addiction treatment program.
It is important to note that these Substances of Abuse remain prohibited, and athletes can still be given sanctions up to four years for presence of a substance of abuse if they cannot establish that its use was out-of-competition and unrelated to sport.
Other substances are currently under review by WADA and may be added to the Substances of Abuse category in the future.
No. If a substance or method is not specifically named on the Prohibited List, it does not mean it is permitted. Most categories of the Prohibited List only name common examples.
Athletes should ask an expert such as a medical professional or their National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) about specific substances if they are not sure. There are also a number of online resources available to help athletes check the status of their medications (for example, GlobalDRO)
IFs may prohibit some substances or methods in addition to those on the Prohibited List. Other Sport Organisations, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are not WADA Code Signatories so may have different anti-doping rules and list of prohibited substances and methods.
Athletes and support personnel should ensure they are aware of any specificities in the anti-doping rules of the sports organisation and events they (or their athletes) compete in.
It should not be assumed that medical professionals know about the Prohibited List or athlete’s anti-doping responsibilities. Athletes must therefore tell all medical professionals that they are an athlete, who can be tested anytime, and they cannot use substances or methods on the Prohibited List without a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). Doctors and pharmacists are experts in medication use and so would be the most likely medical professionals to be able to help athletes understand the Prohibited List.
