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Ephedra SupplementsEphedra supplements are especially popular, and worrisome, being linked to more than 100 deaths, among them Major League pitcher Steve Bechler in February. The weight loss supplement industry estimates 3 billion doses are sold each year, according to an FDA White Paper. An FDA study from January 1993 to February 2001 stated ephedra-containing supplements were associated with more deaths, heart attacks, heart arrhythmias, hypertension, strokes, and seizures than all other dietary supplements combined. The FDA has been proposing stronger warning labels since the 1990s, but is restricted by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which currently exempts botanicals sold as dietary supplements from the safety regulations used for prescription and over-the-counter drugs (including the synthetic form of ephedra, ephedrine). The Federal Trade Commission this month issued three enforcement actions, challenging false advertising claims that certain ephedra supplements cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight-loss without diet or exercise, that "clinical studies" or "medical research" prove these claims, and that the ephedra weight-loss products are "100 percent safe," "perfectly safe," or have "no side effects." Meanwhile, the American Medical Association's position, given before Congress last October, recommends the complete removal of ephedra products from the market, saying the risk/benefit ratio is unacceptable. Illinois already has done so; legislation passed the New York State Senate last month and a key committee of the California legislature this month.
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