<p>WADA's job is usually to "promote, coordinate and monitor" the fight against doping worldwide.<br /><br />But now its scientific director, Olivier Rabin, says the body has evidence that nicotine, a stimulant, can be used to boost performance -- and they are considering introducing new sanctions to deal with it.<br /><br />"We're discussing this problem regularly," Rabin said at an anti-doping conference in Paris on Friday.<br /><br />"In certain sports we know that the use of nicotine is widespread." According to Rabin, scientific evidence suggests that using certain amounts of nicotine is akin to using a stimulant.<br /><br />He said it was those cases WADA would possibly pursue. It is not "our objective to catch athletes who smoke, but those who use nicotine as a means of enhancing their performance".<br /><br />"It's something we're looking into and who knows, we can't be certain, it may lead to a proposal to include nicotine on the list of banned substances," he added.<br /><br />"But that doesn't mean we're going to ban athletes from smoking. It's up to us to come up with ways of distinguishing the one from the other."<br /><br />WADA's list of banned products is renewed annually and, after a long period of consultation, is published on October 1 every year.</p>
<p>WADA's job is usually to "promote, coordinate and monitor" the fight against doping worldwide.<br /><br />But now its scientific director, Olivier Rabin, says the body has evidence that nicotine, a stimulant, can be used to boost performance -- and they are considering introducing new sanctions to deal with it.<br /><br />"We're discussing this problem regularly," Rabin said at an anti-doping conference in Paris on Friday.<br /><br />"In certain sports we know that the use of nicotine is widespread." According to Rabin, scientific evidence suggests that using certain amounts of nicotine is akin to using a stimulant.<br /><br />He said it was those cases WADA would possibly pursue. It is not "our objective to catch athletes who smoke, but those who use nicotine as a means of enhancing their performance".<br /><br />"It's something we're looking into and who knows, we can't be certain, it may lead to a proposal to include nicotine on the list of banned substances," he added.<br /><br />"But that doesn't mean we're going to ban athletes from smoking. It's up to us to come up with ways of distinguishing the one from the other."<br /><br />WADA's list of banned products is renewed annually and, after a long period of consultation, is published on October 1 every year.</p>