EPHEDRA NO CAUSE FOR PANIC

The famously drug-free Mormons, who have long abstained from tea and
coffee, instead used to drink a beverage made from a desert plant called
ephedra. The National Football League is determined not to let its players
- - who make a living by slamming into each other and getting knocked to the
ground - behave so recklessly.

Today, the NFL begins randomly testing its players for ephedrine, the mild
stimulant in "Mormon tea." Ephedrine is an ingredient in over- the-counter
cold and allergy remedies and, in its raw form, nutritional supplements
used by football players to lose weight and get pumped before games. Any
player who tests positive for it will be subject to a four-game suspension.

The NFL's ephedrine ban illustrates how easy it is to whip Americans into a
panic about drugs.

Ephedra, also known as ma huang in the Chinese variety, can be hazardous in
high doses, especially for people with pre-existing cardiovascular
problems. But it is used safely by millions of Americans every year.

The professional alarmists at Public Citizen count "well over 100 deaths
reported to the FDA (among) people using ephedra-containing products" since
1993. It's worth noting that a 2000 New England Journal of Medicine study
found that fewer than a third of the "adverse events" supposedly caused by
ephedra were "definitely or probably related" to use of the drug.

But let's accept Public Citizen's estimate for the sake of argument. It
translates into something like 11 deaths a year. By contrast, in 1999 the
federal government's Drug Abuse Warning Network counted 427 deaths
involving acetaminophen and 104 involving aspirin. Now that it has
addressed the threat posed by decongestants, perhaps the NFL should turn
its attention to over-the-counter painkillers.

True, aspirin and acetaminophen are not usually considered
performance-enhancing drugs, another aspect of ephedra that concerns NFL
officials. But they can certainly give an advantage to a player who takes
them to relieve aches and pains if other players choose not to do so. This
possibility is not seen as a threat to fair competition, because all
players are equally at liberty to use such artificial aids. The same logic
applies to ephedra.