Thursday, April 3, 2003 Posted: 2:43 PM EST (1943 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) --The American Heart Association urged a ban of over-the-counter ephedra supplements Thursday, saying they do more harm than good.
The association said it supported a Food and Drug Administration proposal to limit the manufacture and marketing of ephedra-based dietary supplements, but said it would go even further and ban them.
"Consumers who take these products may think they are doing something good for their health, but the truth is they may be putting themselves at serious risk," Heart Association president Dr. Robert Bonow said in a statement.
"There is no such thing as a magic weight loss pill and anyone who takes these products looking for a quick fix is misleading themselves," Bonow added.
The heart association said it was not referring to prescription drugs containing ephedrine or over-the-counter pseudoephedrine cough and cold medicines.
Ephedra, derived from the Chinese herb ma huang, is an adrenaline-like stimulant affecting the heart and nervous system.
Manufacturers of the supplement have insisted their product is safe when taken as directed, but some consumer groups are lobbying to have ephedra products banned completely.
A RAND Corp. study released last month reviewed 16,000 adverse event reports and found two deaths, four heart attacks, and nine strokes involving ephedra.
Researchers in San Francisco said they had found that ephedra is responsible for 64 percent of all adverse reactions reported from herb use, although ephedra accounts for less than 1 percent of such supplements sold.
The National Football League, the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletics Association have banned ephedra use among players.
A medical examiner in Florida said ephedra contributed to the February 17 death of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler, who collapsed during spring training.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department and FDA have proposed new labels on ephedra products warning of the dangers. HHS has also said it would consider banning ephedra if enough evidence can be found.
Bonow said nothing short of a ban would do.
"Unfortunately, experience tells us that there is a tendency for the public to ignore warning labels and dosage information," Bonow said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/04/03/health.ephedra.reut/index.html
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