Traditional Chinese herbal medicine will not to be used to treat athletes during the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in order to avoid doping problems.

Dai Jianping, of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG), said: “It doesn’t necessarily mean herbal medicine contains provocative substances. As other host countries haven’t used it before, we chose not to use it too.”

However, non-drug traditional Chinese treatments, such as acupuncture and cupping, will still be used.

A ‘poly-clinic’ to cater for around 16,000 athletes will also be constructed inside the athlete’s village, providing a range of medical services such as physical therapy and magnetic resonance imaging.