Ephedra Ban is BACK!!

sikdogg · 08-31-2006, 09:01 PM

Oh well... easy come, easy go.

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4200067

Quote:

Ruling upholds ban on ephedra
Appeals court ratifies FDA report that the supplement is unsafe
By Lesley Mitchell and Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ban on products containing the weight loss supplement ephedra, reversing a Utah judge who stopped enforcement of the prohibition against Park City-based Nutraceutical Corp.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled the U.S. Food and Drug Administration correctly followed a mandate from Congress to conduct a risk-benefit analysis to determine if a product presents an "unreasonable risk of illness or injury." The FDA said no dosage of ephedra is safe to sell to consumers.
The natural supplement industry voiced concern Thursday that the ruling could give the FDA broader power to more easily yank products in cases where it believes the risks outweigh the benefits, said Loren Israelsen, executive director of the Utah Natural Products Alliance. Some supplement makers undoubtedly will even fear a crackdown by the FDA, he said.
"The worry is that the FDA can say to anyone, 'We don't like you, you're out of here,' " he said.
But Elisa Odabashian, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, was ecstatic and said the ban will save lives. Her organization, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has called for years for a ban on ephedra.
"This is just great news because the evidence is everywhere - ephedra is a killer," she said. "It revs you up, you feel great, you have no appetite. . . . But with some people it causes heart palpitations, heart attacks and strokes."
Attorney Jonathan Emord, who represents Nutraceutical Corp., said Thursday the Utah company will seek a rehearing in front of the entire 10th Circuit.
In recent years, many consumers have switched to ephedra-free weight loss supplements because of safety concerns and the difficulty of finding ephedrine products.
Yet Devin Anderson sells a popular ephedra-based weight loss and performance enhancing supplement at his Sugar House store, Herbs for Health. On Thursday, Anderson said he would reluctantly comply with the ban.
Anderson has taken ephedra supplements for years and says the substance is "completely safe." He said Thursday's ruling is "crazy" because he believes high doses and combine ephedra with caffeine.
Ephedrine alkaloids - also called ma-huang - are a class of structurally-related chemical stimulants that occur naturally in some botanicals. In addition to aiding in weight loss, they quell fatigue and are popular among athletes looking for an energy boost.
The ban stems from studies which show an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke and death, especially in users who have high blood pressure, heart disease or engage in strenuous exercise.
Since 1997, the amphetamine-like herb has been linked to 19,000 "adverse events" and dozens of deaths, including that of 23-year-old Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, who collapsed during a spring training workout.
After studying reports of problems, the FDA decided there is no acceptable dosage level of ephedrine-alkaloid dietary supplements. As of April 12, 2004, the FDA banned them.
The ban was challenged in a lawsuit filed in May 2004 by Nutraceutical and its subsidiary Solaray Inc., which said dried whole-herb ephedra sinica - the type of supplement in their products - had been safely used for thousands of years.
In April 2005, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell in Salt Lake City blocked any enforcement action against Nutraceutical for selling supplements containing 10 milligrams or less of ephedra per daily dose.
The judge said the FDA's process in banning ephedra improperly shifted the burden of proving product safety from the government to supplement manufacturers. Unlike drug manufacturers, supplement makers do not have to prove their products are safe before marketing them.
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Tribune correspondent Robert Boczkiewicz contributed to this story.

SonicCelt · 08-31-2006, 10:35 PM

Well that stops the rumors I guess. What a crock, what's next...creatine?? protein?? NO2 supps?? They say 19,000 incidents in the last 10 years, I sure would like to see that information and maybe compare that to how many DEATHS in one year from cigarettes. I'm sure Canada will be right behind, good thing I just ordered 400 tabs

sikdogg · 08-31-2006, 11:50 PM

Personally it doesn't bother me as i can't use Ephedra... i'm one of the lucky few that get prostrate problems from it's use.

What does bother me is the fact that someone has such a hardon to get it banned... c'mon, off the top of my head i can think of so many other substances that cause more injuries/deaths. Someone is just using this issue as a platform for getting elected or re-elected. F'ing politicians...

Überschwanz · 09-01-2006, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicCelt

Well that stops the rumors I guess. What a crock, what's next...creatine?? protein?? NO2 supps?? They say 19,000 incidents in the last 10 years, I sure would like to see that information and maybe compare that to how many DEATHS in one year from cigarettes. I'm sure Canada will be right behind, good thing I just ordered 400 tabs

Sorry but I have a pet peeve.

NO2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide

N2O
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N2o

sikdogg · 09-01-2006, 12:22 AM

Uber, NO2 is a product name for a class of supplements that support Nitric Oxide production in the body. It is neccesary in the vasodilation process...

Überschwanz · 09-01-2006, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikdogg

Uber, NO2 is a product name for a class of supplements that support Nitric Oxide production in the body. It is neccesary in the vasodilation process...

So why don't they just call it NO? Adding the 2 to make a product name that just also happens to be a major pollutant seems stupid to me.

SonicCelt · 09-01-2006, 12:40 AM

Probably they did just to piss you off

Überschwanz · 09-01-2006, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicCelt

Probably they did just to piss you off

Yeah probably. There used to be a university called the Friends University of Central Kansas but it was renamed once the morons figured it out.

anon77 · 09-25-2006, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Well that stops the rumors I guess. What a crock, what's next...creatine?? protein?? NO2 supps??

Actually, in the UK, and also all other countries that are EU members, many vitamin and mineral suplements have been banned by europe. Existing companies can continue trading until 2009 after which they must stop selling suplements that havent had studies proving their safety.

Cant find the website about it, but while searching, it appears that america is doing the same thing.... http://www.saveoursupplements.org/

slickwillie · 09-26-2006, 02:26 AM

This is still amazing to me because of the cigarette thing. I've never been a smoker, nor to I take Ephedra but it is strange why they can't sell it "legally", even if it's not approved by some bullshit regulatory agency because I assume that nobody approves any type of cigarettes (sorry smokers)? I think we all know when there's money involved (especially a shitload), things just seem to be "OK" sometimes...

JaX · 10-30-2006, 05:25 AM

its ridiculous to ban something just because some people are to ignorant to understand their bodies enough to know when they shouldn't use something. or know how much of it to use. read the label. its there for a reason. on top of that, it's only going to get worse they're going to start to be critical of every supplement that we have right now. and as a boxer i use many supplements to stay up to par with opponents. funny how ignorance dictates a group of scientists work.