FTC to require warning labels for Herbal Ecstacy

WASHINGTON (AP) An agreement to end what the government said was false
advertising by the maker of the diet supplement Herbal Ecstacy has won
approval from the Federal Trade Commission.

The deal announced Friday also requires health warnings on the product's
labels.

The action came a day after seven states filed lawsuits to end the sale of
Herbal Ecstacy, a product its maker says is not an illegal drug like the
wellknown Ecstasy.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has proposed cracking down on the
marketing of Herbal Ecstacy and other products containing ephedrine, citing
about 800 injuries and at least 17 deaths linked to the herbal stimulant.

Ephedrine is a compound extracted from plants and used for centuries by
Chinese practitioners as a medicine. It also is sold under the names Ma
huang, Chinese ephedra and epitonin.

Known by the herbal name ephedra, it is a central ingredient in the illegal
drug methamphetamine, or speed. The FDA does allow controlled, pure doses
in certain medicines that treat asthma.

The FTC had alleged that ads extolling the diet supplement's "natural high"
and portraying it as "100 percent natural and absolutely safe" were false.

The agency also alleged that a fictitious doctor was used in product ads to
endorse the supplement and comment about its supposed lack of side effects.

The settlement requires that manufacturer Global World Media Corp. of
Venice Beach, Calif., and owner Sean Shayan support any safety claims in
all future advertisements with scientific evidence.

Warnings about possible side effects also must appear in the ads, as well
as on product labels, the FTC said.

Shayan contends no injuries or deaths have been linked to the pills he
described as diet helpers.

He also said the state suits were part of a government conspiracy to shut
down alternative medicines. He said he does not have the resources to fight
the suits.