Introduction: A couple days ago i read an article about university and high-school students (especially those going to prestigious schools who have a huge pressure to excel) using smart drugs.
I don't like the world "drug" in the title to be honest, which is why i hope people read this post. It kind of gives it a negative perception, these aren't something you'd obtain from a guy in an alleyway, more likely from an internet pharmacy or someone who has a condition that warrants these medications. When you think about it, aspirin or cough mixture is a "drug". So just keep these in mind as simple substances or chemicals.
If you read the list of substances on wikipedia (which is quiet extensive), you have things as common as vitamin B5 and caffeine and on the other end of the spectrum things such as pharmacy only medications which you need a subscription (these treat conditions such as dementia or ADD)
Where would you draw the line?
Is
caffine cheating? I myself took caffeine tablets during my exam to help keep me alert and awake because i wasnt getting much sleep.
Vitamins, most people
wouldnt considered cheating but how about if they were concentrated and
marketed as
study aids. What about
herbs such as
ginkgo biloba which have
proven to effect memory (it has some rare side effects, also see bottom of the post), would you consider this cheating now?
I know a lot of people would draw the line at dementia drugs and such, however drugs like these typically have the greatest enhancing effect.
Health Consequences
There is also a spectrum of health effects as well, caffeine and B-Vitamins wont affect you much, however ginko, since it causes blood vessel dilation and such has caused (very rare) issues in people with previous conditions such as high blood pressure or a weak heart, it also increases the chance of a stroke, a teenage girl had a
stroke when she was taking ginko and combined it with nurofen. The dementia, ADD, ect drugs may have the worst side effects but some like
piracetam have
very few or no side effect.
Where do you stand?
Sorry for the bad poll questions but its really hard to think of how to make a poll for such a subject like this.
Would you not take them because you considered it cheating OR because of the potential health risk, OR you would just not take them for the overall package or idea or another reason?
ORWould you take them because over all they seem like a mostly good idea OR its just you and your up against everyone else so why not (competitive enviroment) OR Would you consider taking them if there were no ill effects?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note 1: I do not actually recommend or condone you go out and try any of these treaments on a whim, especially without first consulting a doctor or at least reading the label and doing some research. Don't hold me responsible if you
hurt yourself /die / start seeing elvis in your refrigerator :knuppel2: . Some of them (such as ginkgo) can (very rarely) have seriously and sometimes life threatening interactions.
Note 2: According to the source of information i used (in this case wikipedia), the memory enhancing effect of ginko has been
disputed. Note 3: Some of these drugs may be
difficult to import into australia and might also be slight shady legally, again i take no responsibility for what you go out and do.
Home
Help
Search
Login
Poll