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April 19, 2026Harm Reduction Journal1 citationsOpen Access

Foreword: the enhanced games—human enhancement, risk, and harm reduction in a post-doping era

IKImran KhanLCLuke CoxKGKyle T. Ganson

Key Points

  • The aim is to explore the application of harm reduction principles to the Enhanced Games and elite sports performance.
  • Conceptual examination of harm reduction in relation to the Enhanced Games.
  • Analysis of historical and contemporary human enhancement practices.
  • Review of literature on risk management in elite sports.
  • Harm reduction approaches could inform better strategies for managing performance enhancement.
  • There's a historical precedent for using harm reduction in various high-risk behaviors, applicable to sports.
  • The Enhanced Games exemplify the need for a nuanced scholarly inquiry rather than strict policy advocacy.

Abstract

empirical and conceptual examination rather than a priori endorsement or rejection.From a harm reduction perspective, the Enhanced Games present an unusual and potentially informative case.Harm reduction has historically been applied to illicit drug use, sexual health, and other risk-laden behaviours where abstinence-only or punitive approaches have failed to prevent use, where many individuals do not wish to stop, and where such approaches have often exacerbated harm.The application of harm reduction principles to elite sport and performance enhancement, however, remains comparatively underdeveloped and contested 5,6.This Collection seeks to situate the Enhanced Games within this broader harm reduction literature, treating them as an object of scholarly inquiry rather than a policy position to be advocated or opposed. Enhancement as a social and biomedical practiceHuman enhancement is neither a novel nor a marginal phenomenon.Across history, individuals and institutions have sought to extend physical capacity, endurance, cognition, and resilience through pharmacological, technological, surgical, nutritional, and training-based interventions 1.In contemporary contexts,

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Cite This Study

Khan et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e47282010ef96374d8e85ahttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-026-01448-4
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