Why is it legal for Ephedra to be sold as a decongestant but be banned from being in diet pills?

Question

I used to use Xenadrine and Hydroxycut with Ephedra when I was training and needed to lose a few pounds. Then it was banned from being used in these and other diet products. When they took the ephedra out of the products I use I noticed right away. Now they don't work at all. The funny thing is when I went to look around on the net I noticed that diet sites are selling Ephedra..but in brackets they put (as a decongestant).
Here is a link to see for yourself
http://www.supplementscanada.com/popeyes/pl_eph.html

What is the point of banning ephedra in diet pills if you can get it "as a decongestant"??? I thought the ephedra worked great as long as you didn't take too many. I admit, if you take too much of the stuff your heart races and you feel awful but taken responsibly it works wonders in combination with excercise and good diet. I think people should have the choice to buy supplements with and without the Ephedra. What do you think?

Answer 1

Well, that is how they get around the law:

"Health Canada classifies ephedrine as a drug, and cannot be sold without a drug identification number or DIN. And ephedrine can only be sold and marketed if labelled as a nasal decongestant. "

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/ephedrine/index.html

The "decongestant" version is probably SUPPOSED to be mixed with other ingredients, making it less harmful (smaller quantities), but if you take enough or bypass the laws as these folks are, you can still get away with it -- until the next crack-down!

Answer 2

If you want ephedra; go to a practitioner of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), and see if the doctor will prescrive the herb Ma Huang for you. Ma Huang has a lot of natural ephedra.

Answer 3

In California Ephedra is banned for all uses. You may be thinking of Pseudoephedrine, which is a synthetic version of Ephedra, which is used for a decongestant.

"Beginning in the 1990s, concerns about the safety of Ephedra and Ephedra-based products began to be publicly raised in the United States. Concentrated mixtures were found in weight control products marketed as "dietary supplements". Sympathomimetic amines such as ephedrine raise heart rate and blood pressure and can be particularly hazardous to those with pre-existing cardiac problems. After receiving over 800 reports of "adverse events", the country's federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed regulations in 1997 for a warning label, and a limited dose of 8mg (no more than 24mg per day).[13]

After various petitions for and against the regulations, (including complaints about the accuracy of dosage and lack of quality control in the dietary supplement industry [14]) the FDA hired the RAND Corporation to do a study in 2002, [15] and eventually linked 155 deaths to Ephedra, most of them caused by cardiac problems and strokes.[citation needed]

In May 2003, the health food store General Nutrition Center announced that they would stop carrying ephedra-containing products as of June 2003. [12]

The FDA must approve all drugs before they may be sold in the United States. It considers the risks and benefits of medications for specific medical conditions, may require a doctor's prescription, make labeling requirements, or ban the drug entirely. The burden of proof for safety is on the manufacturer. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 creates a class of substances known as dietary supplements, which are not subject to pre-approval, and for which the burden of proof is on the government if it wishes to restrict availability. As a traditional herb, Ephedra qualifies as a dietary supplement.

On December 30, 2003, the FDA announced a ban (effective 12 April 2004) on the uncontrolled sale of dietary supplements containing Ephedra, citing "an unreasonable risk of illness or injury" [16] from the use of the drug. The active ingredients ephedrine and pseudoephedrine remained available as an ingredient in some over the counter (OTC) medications that are clearly labeled in accordance with FDA regulations.

Many advocates maintained that Ephedra was safe in low doses typical of traditional herbal preparations, and that the adverse cardiovascular effects were associated with higher doses.

The Nutraceutical Corporation of Park City, Utah, which had been selling a relatively low dose (10mg, compared to 40mg-100mg doses also on the market) sued the FDA. On 14 April 2005, Utah federal district judge Tena Campbell ruled in favor of the company.[17] The ruling stated that because of the 1994 law and Ephedra's status as a dietary supplement, the FDA did not have the statutory authority to require the manufacturer to prove that the product offered a benefit, and that it had failed to meet its burden of proof that the 10mg dose posed a sufficient risk. Nutraceutical said that it did not plan to re-introduce Ephedra, and that it had brought the suit merely to protect its other product lines from overzealous regulation by the FDA. The FDA said that it considered further research into the dose-dependent safety of Ephedra to be unethical, given the lack of benefit (other than for short-term weight loss [18]) and potential risk.[19] Critics renewed calls to reform the 1994 dietary supplement law.[20] [21]

The state of California has reinstated Ephedra dietary supplements in January 2006, followed by New York and Illinois. [citation needed] These laws are not affected by the federal court decision. [22]

On August 17, 2006 a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overruled a lower United States District Court decision by Judge Tena Campbell for the District of Utah. [23]

On August 18, 2006, Jonathan Emord, the attorney representing Nutraceutical Corporation announced "On or before September 29, 2006, Plaintiff Nutraceutical Corporation will file a petition for rehearing en banc by the entire 10th Circuit." [24]"

Answer 4

because onions grow at the north pole and santa lives at the north pole. so if ephedra had a nick name saaaaaaaaaaay lois
it would be illigal so i want you to thank go your toenails are still intact from the hamburger

Answer 5

Too many young people had heart attacks.
When exercising, you are stressing the heart more than when you are resting due to a cold

Answer 6

probably due to the concentration of the chemical in the drug, one level is considered safe but the amount used in dieting pills, for it to be effective, is dangerous.