Ephedra Dangerous, Still Widely Available
More than a hundred people have died from an herbal weight loss aid called ephedra.
Many stores now refuse to sell it and some states have banned its use completely.
Consumer investigator Wayne Havrelly reveals ephedra remains all too easy to buy.
It's very easy to buy and the sad thing is most people don't even know they're taking it because ephedra goes by many different names.
It might not sound dangerous but there's no doubt ephedra can be a killer.
Peter Schlendorf died seven years ago while he was on spring break with friends.
Peter had taken an herbal supplement that contained ephedra. He didn't feel well so he stayed behind when his friends went out.
Peter died later that night.
Products with ephedra have been removed from most national drug store chains including GNC and Walgreen's. But a recent investigation by Consumer Reports magazine found ephedra is still widely available.
"We had people shop for products with ephedra in small stores and online we went to 90 stores and found dozens of products," said Jim Guest of Consumer Reports.
Most of the supplements purchased in seven different states contain caffeine as well as ephedra which is especially dangerous. Sometimes you can't even tell because Ephedra is often listed as ma huang and caffeine is called gurana.
Three states have banned ephedra completely but even in those banned states it's easy to get over the internet.
All this is very troubling to people like the Schlendorfs, they feel strongly that the sale of ephedra should be more strictly regulated.
"It caused us to lose our son, the light of our life," said Schlendorf.
Now here's the problem.
The Food and Drug administration doesn't regulate herbal supplements which in includes ephedra.
The FDA actually did propose some labeling restrictions for ephedra a few years back, but the proposal was dropped.
The agency is now reconsidering those labeling restrictions.
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