Drugs cheats in British sport will not be jailed, sports minister Tracey Crouch has said after a review of the UK's anti-doping rules.
Recent scandals have led to some calls in the UK to follow the example of Australia, France and Italy in criminalising doping.
Most drug-testing agencies, however, do not want doping to be criminalised, as they believe getting convictions will be difficult and sporting sanctions are more relevant.
"The UK is one of the leading nations in the world in anti-doping with robust testing, information sharing and investigation processes in place," Crouch said in a statement.
"It was right that we looked into the case for criminalising doping, however the strong consensus is that it would not necessarily aid the fight against drug cheats.
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"We are not complacent, though, which is why there are recommendations in the review that I urge the anti-doping authorities, sports governing bodies and health organisations to consider to further strengthen our approach."
