Originally published February 16 2006
Ephedra returns to the U.S. market in much smaller dosages
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In spite of the FDA ban on the sale of products containing weight loss drug Ephedra, Nutraceutical Corp. is now selling supplements that contain 10 milligrams or less of the substance, after a Utah court ruled that the smaller dosages posed no threat to public health, but many experts question the legality of selling Ephedra in any amount within the U.S.
We will do all we can to protect Americans from potentially dangerous dietary supplements," said Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew Eschenbach in announcing the seizure.
To bring you up to speed: Since the FDA banned ephedra after it was linked to a number of deaths, most dietary supplement makers have either withdrawn their ephedra products or reformulated them to eliminate ephedra.
But supplement maker Nutraceutical Corp., some of whose products contained ephedra, sued then-FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford over the ban.
In April, a federal District Court judge in Utah ruled that Nutraceutical could sell products that contain 10 milligrams or less of ephedra.
"The suit is not about the safety of ephedra but about FDA setting new standards for putting safe products on the market," Nutraceutical President Bruce Hough told the publication FDA Week when the ruling was released.
"You can't wholesale ban a supplement unless you have good scientific facts behind it."
Even so, dietary supplement trade associations urged their members not to jump back into the market with ephedra products.
"We supported FDA's ban on the product and following the Utah federal court decision publicly advised the industry that the ruling should not be misinterpreted as a complete overturn of the ephedra ban," said Steven Mister, CEO and President of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents dietary supplement makers.
"We say to the industry, 'Sell your products in conformity with the law,' " said AHPA President Michael McGuffin.
Besides, as McGuffin notes, there's a question of whether low doses of ephedra are even effective for weight loss.
"Why would anybody think that 10 milligrams has any effectiveness in weight loss?
You wouldn't take a tenth of an aspirin if your head is pounding, would you?"
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