The NFL banned smelling salts. Here’s why : Shots

The defensive winger of the RAMs, Kobie Turner, takes a sniffing of fragrant salts in a match against the packers of the Sofi stadium in Inglewood on Sunday. The NFL has prohibited the use of the substance for security reasons.

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

NFL players will no longer be able to use the salts that smell to get a quick vigilance shock on the field. The NFL announced on Tuesday that the substance had been prohibited for security reasons.

The League cited a Warning from the FDA published last year, informing consumers that the smell of salts – often marketed to increase vigilance and energy – have not proved to be safe or effective for this purpose.

In addition to the general security problems, the NFL noted that the substance can mask the symptoms of a concussion. Recent estimates suggest that a concussion occurs both NFL games.

San Francisco 49ers, the right winger George Kittle revealed the ban on an interview with NFL Network on Tuesday, noting that he was “distraught” by the announcement because he uses salt salts several times throughout a match and wanted to “understand an common ground” with the League. Other organizations, such as the National Rugby League in Australia and the International Boxing Federation, have prohibited the substance.

George Kittle of the 49ers of San Francisco said that he regularly used fragrant salts during football matches.

Michael Zagaris / Getty Images

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Michael Zagaris / Getty Images

What do the salts smell like?

The smells that smell in ammonium carbonate. When dried, the substance looks like table salt and was initially called Hartshorn salt – named after the male deer horns of which it was commonly derived in the 17th century. A liquid form of the substance was first used as a sourdough agent before baking soda and powder becomes widely available.

Today, the smells that smell and other ammonia inhaling are used to prevent and treat fainting. The Federal Aviation Administration even obliges airlines to transport them on board.

Once the ammonia is produced, it is packed with water and other liquids in small single -use capsules containing a few drops of the mixture. When the content is crushed together, a chemical reaction releases ammonia and carbon dioxide.

“It’s really disgusting. I mean, it really smells, really bad,” said Dr. Laura Boxley, neuropsychologist of Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “I think some people describe it as if you were very close to cat urine.”

When inhaled, ammonia gas activates nose receptors, which leads to a reactions cascade that cause an increase in respiratory frequency, brain blood flow and heart rate.

From pharmacy cabinet to land

But this physiological reaction was also sought by certain athletes, because it leads to a “subjective increase in perceived vigilance and” psyche energy “,” according to a recent article on the smells that smell.

“The use of salt salts in sports is certainly not their planned use,” said Boxley. “What is happening with certain athletes is that they use them with a much higher frequency than its planned use.”

The smells that smell are widely available and can be purchased at the counter. Athletes like Tom Brady have used them in the past.

It is not known when the athletes have started to use the smells that smell, but Boxley compares their use to superstitious practices that some athletes adopt.

“There are a lot of athletes, from a psychological point of view, that they feel gives them an advantage,” she said. “They are very famous for making rituals like wearing a lucky shirt or wearing a certain hairstyle.”

Despite the perceived effects of the smell of salts, there is no solid evidence to support the theory that the smell of salts improves sports performance. Boxley has added that some athletes who use the smells that can connect success in the field with their use of the substance.

“There is no performance advantage for ammonia inhaling in a short explosion of maximum effort despite high excitation and associated perception of performance improvement,” wrote the authors of the same article.

Why sniff for a boost could turn against

Although the smell of salts is sometimes medically indicated, an inappropriate and frequent use of the substance can lead to adverse events such as shortness of breath, convulsions and migraines. Even when they do not occur, the substance can still present risks – especially among professional athletes.

When a football player has a concussion, symptoms generally include confusion, headache and dizziness. The use of fragrant salts can artificially increase excitation levels, potentially hide these revealing signs.

If a player continues to use the salts by feeling after a concussion, he can worsen the injury. Indeed, powerful ammonia gas can trigger an automatic and automatic shield of the head and neck.

“This could certainly complicate injuries before being officially evaluated,” said Boxley.

Although the salts that smell released a small amount of ammonia vapor, the long -term effects of repeated exposure are not well understood.

“Whenever you use a tool outside of its recommended use, you are in a way in unexplored territory,” said Boxley, noting that if players are ready to take this risk, the gain should be worth it. “In the end, he does not take the salts that feel to end world hunger, nor prevent war. It is a question of knowing if he has the impression that he does his best during the next game.”