For several years now, the use of pharmacological substances as a strategy for enhancing mental performance in work and everyday settings has been discussed under the term ‘enhancement’. The TAB report ‘Pharmacological interventions for performance enhancement as a societal challenge’ provides a detailed overview of the current possibilities for pharmacologically influencing human performance and classifies the relevant substances in terms of pharmaceutical, food and health legislation. It is shown that existing medical ethics standards and regulatory approval procedures for medicines currently represent a significant barrier to the development of non-therapeutic enhancement agents. Despite a lack of evidence of efficacy and a considerable potential for side effects, it can nevertheless be assumed that there is significant use of such substances within the population, the causes and conditions of which appear to be the real societal challenge. An analysis of the bioethical and social science debate on the subject, and in particular an evaluation of findings from research into doping practices in elite and mass sport, provide insights into the potential dynamics of enhancement within the context of a ‘performance-enhancing society’.