california ephedra ban

May 25, 2003

Here is a newspaper report on the California ephedra ban reported on NPR 2

weeks ago. It is unclear whether this ban includes the raw herb in

chinese decoctions or not. I had heard nothing about it from anyone. We

need to act quickly to insure an L.Ac exemption in the final bill. This

went to CHA members (800). Please forward to all interested parties.

Senate passes ban on ephedra in state

By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Capitol Bureau

Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Dealing another blow to the weight-loss supplement ephedra, the state

Senate on Monday voted to ban the substance in California.

SB 582, which prohibits the sale or distribution of dietary supplements

containing ephedrine group alkaloids, now faces Assembly consideration.

The bill, by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, cleared the Senate on a

24-14 vote.

" You talk to any of the scientists who have done studies on it ... and, to

a person, they will say it is inappropriate to be in the marketplace as a

food, " Speier said.

Speier said that since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not

regulate the content or appropriate dosage of supplements, using them is a

" buyer beware " proposition. Given what she called significant health risks,

Speier said the time for regulation is over.

Ephedra use supporters say the product can be used safely if dosage

recommendations are followed. They maintain that while current scientific

research does support national warning labels, it does not justify banning

the product.

Republican Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, who opposed the bill, said

California should wait for federal action and that a state ban would be

ineffective.

" If people want the product, they are going to get it, " Aanestad said,

pointing out that the bill wouldn't stop mail order or Internet sales.

Speier said the time for waiting has passed and that California should

lead by example.

" I don't know how many more deaths we need before we take this product off

the shelf, " she said. " Our job is to protect the health and safety of the

residents of the state of California. "

The FDA moved closer to slapping warning labels on ephedra-containing

products in February -- just weeks after the death of a Baltimore Orioles

pitcher was linked to ephedra use.

Pitcher Steve Bechler's death came about a year after that of Minnesota

Vikings' lineman Korey Stringer. Stringer's family has filed a $100

million wrongful-death lawsuit, claiming ephedra played a role in his

death.

A growing number of studies have linked the stimulant to health problems

such as heart attack and stroke and even to deaths.

The growing concern has prompted some diet supplement makers to remove

ephedra from their products, replacing it with another stimulant, a Speier

aide said.

Last year, California pre-empted the FDA by outlawing the sale of ephedra

to children and started requiring warning labels.

" California is only doing this because the federal government has not done

their job, " said Judith S. Stern, a professor of nutrition at the

University of California, Davis.

Ephedra is an effective weight-loss tool but should be dispensed by

doctors -- as it is in Europe, Stern said.

" Ephedra works, " said Stern. But given the health risks, she concluded,

" We can't continue to do what we are doing now. "

Chinese Herbs

" Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre

minds " -- Albert Einstein

May 25, 2003

I had heard nothing about it from anyone. We need to act quickly to insure an L.Ac exemption in the final bill. This went to CHA members (800). Please forward to all interested parties.

On your behalf and the list's, you may not have noticed my call to action because SARS was eclipsing the news. Lots of people that I know wrote letters ... many per person actually. The Consumers Union was so powerfully behind Jackie Speiers that loud voices from the SF Bay area and L.A. had pretty much no effect. I forward to members of the state acupuncture board who are Davis appointees. Probably no real effect from them either.

Emmanuel Segmen