Doping: did Benzema take a banned product?

The most observant supporters have not failed to notice a recent change regarding Karim Benzema. The Madrid striker indeed regularly presents a tongue with bluish tints. What necessarily suggest that the Madrid striker is a consumer of Snus, a derivative of tobacco.

Very common in the Nordic countries and especially in Sweden, snus is dried tobacco that gets stuck between the gum and the upper lip. Described as less dangerous to health since it is not inhaled and therefore absorbed by the lungs, Snus is nevertheless prohibited in France because of the very high rate of nicotine it contains. « Nicotine irritates the throat and the bronchial tubes and by the dose present in the sachets quickly leads to addiction.considers the Alliance Against Tobacco.

According to many specialists, snus would also allow nicotine to pass into the blood and therefore improve reflexes or concentration. According to a study carried out by Italian researchers in 2013, nicotine clearly improves sports performance since athletes who regularly consume snus see their results increase by 13%.

However, nicotine is not considered a doping product. At least for now. It is indeed in the viewfinder of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “In terms of sports ethics, nicotine is not yet prohibited but we strongly suspect that it can increase performance. When we look at the WADA criteria (three in number, increase in performance, health risk and questioned sporting ethics, editor’s note), it would not be surprising if this were to be in the future, “ recently entrusted the former doctor of the Cofidis and Sojasun teams, Jean-Jacques Menuet.