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Metropolis Reality Forums « As backlash against ephedra mounts, Congress drags »

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As backlash against ephedra mounts, Congress drags
« on: Jul 17th, 2003, 9:38am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
As backlash against ephedra mounts, Congress drags feet
Thu Jul 17, 5:43 AM ET  
 
Years after diet supplements containing ephedra surged onto store shelves without government regulation or consumer warnings, concerns about serious risks to users finally are forcing meaningful changes. On Monday, New Jersey's attorney general joined a parade of more than 100 lawsuits against the ephedra industry.  
 
The popular herbal supplement, which is linked to at least 120 deaths and 1,400 serious reactions, also is under assault from state legislatures, medical groups -- and the marketplace. Last week, CVS, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, announced it will stop selling ephedra diet products.
 
Even the supplement industry is backpedaling. Industry leaders have now endorsed, at least in principle, a Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) (FDA) proposal to require warning labels on ephedra products.
 
But instead of building on this momentum, Congress continues to protect the diet supplements industry, the source of $4 million in political contributions during the past six years. While a House subcommittee resumes desultory hearings next week on the supplement's dangers, there's little movement toward what's really needed: government regulation of ephedra and other largely untested and unproved diet supplements.
 
Ephedra is used heavily by athletes seeking an edge and by dieters craving a shortcut to weight loss. Yet the product has been blamed for life-threatening and fatal side effects even when used as recommended.
 
The Rand Corp. think tank issued a review in February concluding that while several instances of death and illness are clearly linked to ephedra use, the product does not result in long-term weight-loss benefits or improvements in athletic performance.
 
The industry defends its product by attacking studies as inconclusive and quoting the odd positive line from largely negative conclusions. Outside of Congress, though, the case is an increasingly tough sell:
 
  • In recent weeks, Illinois and New York have joined several localities in outlawing over-the-counter sales of ephedra products.
     
  • Two major ephedra producers based in Florida and Arizona agreed July 1 to repay customers $370,000 to resolve deceptive-advertising charges.
     
  • A California judge issued a $12.5 million false-advertising judgment last month against the maker of the weight-loss pill implicated in the death of a Baltimore Orioles pitcher this year. The judge also found that the firm had pressured its researchers into bending their reports to be more favorable.
     
    Such actions have made an impact. Sales surveys indicate business is off 30% or more for some of the most popular ephedra potions. But scattershot court rulings and state laws can't provide the seamless national protection the public needs.
     
    The FDA now is asking for more evidence about ephedra's health risks, and it is considering some halfway protections, including warning labels and added actions to discourage exaggerated marketing claims.
     
    The better answer is congressional action giving the FDA the same power to regulate supplements as it does similarly dangerous drugs. Instead, Congress gave the industry a generous immunity from regulation nine years ago and has stubbornly refused to reconsider the issue ever since.
     
    Until that changes, the public is left to look elsewhere for whatever spotty protection it can get.
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