“If you’re healthy you don’t need drugs”: Public attitudes towards “brain doping” in the classroom and “legalised doping” in sport

•Members of the public find the use of drugs for enhancement to be unacceptable.•Ethical and safety concerns underpin overall attitudes.•Attitudes towards sport enhancement and cognitive enhancement overlap.

Public attitudes towards the use of drugs for cognitive enhancement and enhancement in sport are not well understood. This qualitative study used an open ended response format to explore reasons underlying public attitudes towards: (1) the use of prescription drugs to enhance concentration/alertness, and more specifically, the use of Ritalin by healthy university students as a “study aid” and (2) the prospect of “legalised doping” in sport. Participants were 55 members of the Australian public. Participants generally held unfavourable attitudes towards both the use of drugs for cognitive enhancement and “legalised doping”. The reasons underlying attitudes towards both contexts overlapped and reflected four main themes: (1) regard for authenticity; (2) concerns about safety and side-effects; (3) unfairness; and (4) proper use of medicines. An understanding of unfavourable public attitudes towards the non-medical use of drugs for enhancement purposes is useful to inform appropriate health policy and clinical practice responses.