Say Anything Blog

From the Associated Press:

The federal government announced on Tuesday a ban on the sale of ephedra, an herbal supplement used for weight control that has been linked to a number of deaths and harmful side effects.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said that "based on the best possible scientific evidence" his agency would issue a consumer alert about the dangers of ephedra and will send notices to manufacturers to stop selling the herbs...

Thompson said the decision was "well grounded" and based on extensive scientific study. The ban would take effect in 60 days.

"I don't want people turning to ephedra thinking they could lose weight," Thompson told a news conference.

Mark McClellan, head of the Food and Drug Administration, said his agency is notifying consumers and manufacturers that it will publish a rule making it illegal to sell and use ephedra.

He said the agency was concerned about young people and athletes looking to ephedra to boost their performance. Use of the supplement has led to serious health effects, he said.

As much as I hate for the government to tell me what I can or cannot do with my body (e.g. smoking bans, sin taxes) this ban makes sense. We should always be wary of the government taking on a "caretaker" role but we should expect the government to protect us from false and misleading advertising.

The companies that sell ephedra-based products would have us believe that their product is safe. They publish junk-science studies backing up these beliefs and in the end lure people into believing that their products are safe. They market their products on the counters of thousands of convenience stores across the nation. Many people do not realize that this product can be deadly.

Ephedra is not safe. A lot of people have figured that out when we see news stories about athletes dying from ephedra-related health complications. The stuff just isn't good for us, but apparently the message hasn't gotten through to everybody. Normally I'd say that educating people to the ill effects of ephedra and then letting them make their own decision based on the facts would be enough to put the ephedra makers out of business, but it hasn't worked. So, the substance has been banned. Good riddance.

My only fear in this whole matter is that ephedra will join steroids in the illicit locker room drug business as yet another "performance enhancing drug," and yet another complication to our war on drugs.