Athletes could be at risk of getting banned from their sports because many over-the-counter medicines and supplements contain prohibited substances that may not be clear on current pharma labels.

This is the warning of UK Anti-Doping, which has been urging London 2012 Olympics hopefuls to carefully check anything they use to make sure its ingredients are permitted, the Daily Mail reports.

It comes after British shot putter Rachel Wallader was suspended when a drugs test showed up positive, even though she had only taken a nutritional supplement.

Nicola Newman, communications and education director for UK Anti-Doping, said: "They won't know some of the risks that they can take in normal day-to-day living that might result in a ban."

The World Doping Agency prints a new list of all banned substances each year, so athletes may want to carefully check products against this.

However, it could also prompt manufacturers to include pharmaceutical booklet labels on their products that go into more detail about ingredients.

In related news, Brian Strom from the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania recently told USA Today that pharma labels on non-prescription drugs may not be effective enough when it comes to preventing accidental overdoses.

Denny Bros Ltd , 8 September 2011