U.S. WILL BAN EPHEDRA EARLY NEXT YEAR

Herbal Stimulant 'Too Risky To Use'

The Bush administration is banning the sale of ephedra early next year, and
urged consumers Tuesday to immediately stop using the herbal stimulant that
was linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.

It was the government's first-ever ban on a dietary supplement, one that
comes eight years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first began
receiving reports that ephedra could be dangerous.

"The time to stop taking these products is now," Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson said. "They are simply too risky to be used."

But Tom Sokoloff, president of Paradise Health and Nutrition, with
locations in Suntree and Palm Bay, disagreed, saying ephedra was used in
Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years, and, "when used appropriately,
it's safe."

The problem arises when consumers, anxious to lose weight quickly, think
"six pills may work better than three," he said.

Ephedra once was hugely popular for weight loss and body-building.

But government health officials said it can cause life-threatening side
effects, even in seemingly healthy people who use the recommended doses
because the amphetamine-like stimulant speeds heart rate and constricts
blood vessels. It is particularly risky for anyone with heart disease or
high blood pressure or people engaging in strenuous exercise.

The ban isn't immediate because federal rules require paperwork steps that
mean the earliest it could take effect would be March. But the FDA wrote 62
current and former makers and sellers on Tuesday that, "we intend to shut
you down," Commissioner Mark McClellan said.

"There are companies out there who've profited by misleading Americans
about the benefits of ephedra, even as they put Americans' health at risk,"
McClellan said. "Any responsible manufacturer and retailer should stop
selling these products as soon as possible."

Thompson said he was announcing the upcoming ban now so that people making
New Year's resolutions to lose weight won't be tempted to try ephedra.

"Ephedra raises your blood pressure and stresses your system," McClellan
added. "There are far better, safer ways to get in shape."

The FDA put manufacturers on notice that it will be watching what
ingredients replace ephedra in weight-loss products. But while the ban sets
an important legal precedent for supplement regulation, no other crackdowns
are imminent, McClellan said.

Critics called the ephedra ban long overdue.

Sales already have plummeted because of publicity about the herb's dangers,
which peaked after the ephedra-related death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher
Steve Bechler last February.

Sokoloff contended, however, that "ephedra was the least" of Bechler's
health problems, including being overweight.

Sokoloff said many cold medicines contain a synthetic version of ephedra,
yet "they are not being pulled from the market."

Rather than ban the herbal stimulant outright, warning labels would be
enough, he said.

"We do stock it still," Sokoloff said, adding ephedra accounts for less
than 1 percent of dietary-supplement sales nationwide. "But the government
is asking us to stop selling it, and we will."

Staff writer Susan Jenks and The Associated Press contributed to this story.