Of course, there’s a documented advantage to using inhalers if not asthmatic which is where my points about the TUE system being abused come in.
The Asthma card gets brought up a lot, and I understand both the medical application for suffers to be able to maintain unhindered performance (other half is on two differnet inhalers daily), and also the benefits it can give to non-suffers to improve normal performance, and the questions that brings up about TUE abuse, so I have a question, as I’m not sure where to get the answers.
– Do we have stats for number of Asthmatics using inhalers (type?) in the tour?
– Is that number appreciably different by % to the % of Asthma suffers in general population?
> if it is NO higher then I think we have to put that one to bed not an issue, especially considering a TUE requires review and agrement, I have to believe that if the number of suffers in the tour is in line with normal population, ADN the TUE requests are reviewed then they must be genuine.
> if it IS higher then we have an interesting question to answer…
is there some reason that more Asthmatics gravitate towards the top of end of a sport? why? what mechanism is in play here? on the face of it it would seem an odd thing, if there was a higher than average % of people with respiratory problems ending up in pro sport, and then ending up right at the top of the field in that sport, <yoda>very odd it would be, explanations we must find…</yoda>
OR
is the TUE system being abused? in which case is the review board being duped, or is the review board in on it? how do you combat that?
And if the TUE system is being abused for Asthma then that throws into question the TUE review process in general, for all meds and casts doubt on anyone involved in the review and the medical advice.
so, are we making a fuss over nothing with Asthma or is it actually an indicator or something awry in the process/system?