Ban ephedra, experts ask Congress

WASHINGTON -- The numerous reports of death and illness among users of dietary supplements containing the herb ephedra show the government must ban the unrestricted sales of such products, a panel of experts told Congress on Tuesday.

Ephedra, the experts told a Senate subcommittee, has been linked to heart attacks and strokes and has not been proven to have any valid medical purpose. They urged the Food and Drug Administration to remove the products from the market.

"It is beyond dispute that ephedra has triggered heart attacks and death," said Bill Jeffery of the Centre for Science in Public Interest in Ottawa, Canada. He said supplements with ephedra are banned in Canada, which classifies the herb as a "class 1 health risk."

Ephedra supplements are promoted as useful in losing weight and increasing athletic performance, but Dr. Ronald M. Davis of the American Medical Association said his organization believes the claimed benefits "do not outweigh the risks."

"The weight of the available clinical evidence supports the removal of dietary supplement products containing (ephedra) from the market," Davis told the Senate Government Operations oversight panel.

But a lawyer representing Metabolife International Inc., an ephedra supplement maker, disputed the criticism, saying that product is safe and effective when used as directed by adults.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Metabolife claimed it had received no reports of adverse health effects, but last month the company gave the FDA copies of more than 13,000 adverse event reports, including three deaths, 20 heart attacks and 24 strokes.

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