The federal government plans to ban the dietary supplement ephedra. It’s a good move.
Ephedra has been blamed for several high-profile deaths caused by strokes and heart failure. It is available over the counter and included as an ingredient in some weight loss drugs. Athletes sometimes use the substance to enhance their performance or training, a practice that is prohibited by the NCAA, the NFL and the International Olympic Committee.
More than 150 deaths have been attributed to the use of ephedra and, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, there have been more than 16,000 “adverse incident reports.” Thompson said the decision was based on the reports, clinical studies about how the substance affects a person’s body, and experts’ opinions.
No doubt, the makers of ephedra have teams of lawyers planning an appeal to the Bush administration’s plan.
Dietary supplements are not regulated in the same way as drugs, although many are advertised like medicine. Current rules require the government to show that a supplement is not safe before it can be restricted from the market, while drug makers must show that their products are safe.
It’s time the higher standard was applied to controversial supplements.
Hope for 2004
It’s the first day of a new year, and while there were plenty of good things that happened last year, there was plenty of ugliness, too.
War, disease, terrorism, natural disasters – and that was just in the last week.
Opening a new calendar is cathartic, a chance for optimism and anticipation of what might be in the year to come.
We have high hopes for 2004.
We look forward to inspired political debate in Augusta and Washington, D.C. We anxiously anticipate a heated and informative campaign for the presidency. Perhaps we’ll even be able to resolve the conflict surrounding the arrest of Auburn Mayor Norm Guay and the subsequent investigation of the city’s Police Department.
But we can’t forget that we have soldiers occupying two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, or that efforts to destroy al-Qaeda have not been completely successful. Osama bin Laden is still on the run, and we are all living under an Orange Alert, which means there’s a high chance for terrorism.
We hope for peace in the Middle East; a stable, democratic Iraq; and progress against AIDS and poverty.
Our New Year’s wish for our readers, friends, families and community is for good weather, good health and a happier, better world.
dfarmer@sunjournal.com
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