Jeff Burris had to do his homework on the NFL's latest banned substance. The Bengals cornerback takes seasonal allergy medicines and wasn't sure whether they contain traces of ephedrine, now banned by the league.

        “Everything you put in your body you're responsible for,” Burris said. “You have to be careful about it. A lot of guys are going to be concerned.”

        There's good reason. Random drug testing for ephedrine begins Monday, and any player who tests positive can be suspended for four games — one-fourth of the regular season.

        The league and the players' association agreed on the ban last September, making the NFL the first professional sports league in the nation to do so. Ephedrine is a stimulant found in many diet supplements, and there's evidence it can contribute to strokes, seizures and heart problems.

        Burris and others who take asthma, cold or allergy medicines have been told to check with team trainers to see if the medicines contain ephedrine. Bengals trainer Paul Sparling said those medications won't be a problem.

        “A key is making sure they're not taking those types of cold medicines with ephedrine in them on top of something else,” Sparling said. “And one of the things that will be important is to make sure players are using over-the-counter medications as directed.”

        Bengals players will have no excuse if they test positive for ephedrine. Sparling and strength coach Kim Wood are known around the league for their hard line against using drugs to try to increase performance — a stance that doesn't always sit well with players.

        “The players know where I stand,” said Wood, the Bengals' strength coach for 27 years. “The first thing they're going to hear from me is 'You don't kneed to take that. It's going to hurt you.”'

        Wood has been an outspoken opponent of steroids and other performance-related drugs, taking positions not always shared around the league.

        “Many strength coaches in the history of the NFL have not been on the up-and-up,” Wood said Wednesday. “Many have been connected to supplement companies. Before the NFL tested for steroids, many were involved in that commerce. The same goes for trainers.

        “The corruption of strength coaches and of trainers at the pro level, the college level and the high school level, the corruption of personal trainers and people who you run into at gyms is awesome.”

        Since the NFL approved the ban, some players have gone to Sparling and asked if their supplements contain ephedrine. His response: There's no way to tell for sure because supplements aren't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

        “Just because it's not listed on the bottle doesn't mean it's not in the pill,” he said. “That's why players are really concerned, and should be. It's an unregulated industry and, because of that, 'street speed' such as ephedrine is used in a lot of these things.

        “One thing I tell guys on a regular basis is just because it's found in a health food store doesn't mean it's necessarily healthy. The problem is that because it's not regulated, you don't know what you're putting into your body.”

        The concern with ephedrine is that it can cause too much stimulation for an athlete's body, which already is under stress.

        “You figure that with training camp in the middle of July and August and the games that we play on Sunday afternoon in full gear with high heat and humidity, they're already at risk,” Sparling said. “The adrenaline has your heart rate going, and now you're going to take something that accelerates it even more? The body has its limits to what it can tolerate.”

        Sparling and Wood figure the threat of a four-game suspension will force players who are using supplements to reconsider.

        “I don't know if more people will listen now than in the past, but they're total fools if they get caught and get punished,” Wood said. “The good ones know that there's no substitute for, as Paul Brown used to say, running on your own gas.”

Bengals take hard line against supplements

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