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CONSUMERS UNION WARNS OF SPORTS SUPPLEMENT HAZARDS
Consumer Group Advises Against Use of Supplements Containing Ephedra at Hearing Exploring Use Among Adolescent Athletes
SACRAMENTO, CA - A representative of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, recommended against the use of sports supplements containing the ingredient ephedra at a legislative hearing in Sacramento today. Ephedra is an herbal supplement that has been linked by some investigators to numerous deaths and serious injuries among those who take it as an energy booster. It has been barred by the National Football League, but there is growing concern about its use among adolescent athletes.
"We believe that people who take ephedra are conducting what amounts to a vast, uncontrolled clinical experiment on themselves with untested, largely unregulated medications," said Elisa Odabashian, a Senior Policy Analyst with Consumers Union's West Coast Regional Office. "Given the health concerns that have been raised about this product, we recommend that it be avoided by consumers, especially adolescents."
Odabashian testified about Consumers Union's concerns regarding ephedra at a joint hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Government Oversight and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The hearing was held on the use of dietary supplements and performance-enhancing drugs by student athletes and adolescents.
While the drug contains just one active ingredient, almost all the supplements combine multi-ingredient ephedra with at least one other stimulant, usually caffeine or guarana (an herb containing caffeine). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found this combination so dangerous that it banned it from over-the-counter drugs in 1983.
But this combination of ephedra and caffeine is not banned from sports supplements. Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, there is barely any government oversight of the safety of herbal supplements. Supplements like ephedra can be marketed without any advance testing under current federal law. The only restriction: the label cannot claim the product will treat, prevent, or cure a disease.
A study from the University of California, San Francisco, of 140 ephedra-related "adverse events" led the FDA to conclude that 87 may have been linked to ephedra products. Nearly half of those cases involved cardiovascular symptoms such as sudden high blood pressure or a racing heartbeat. There were 17 strokes and seizures, 13 cases of permanent impairment, and 10 deaths, including a 15-year old girl.
According to a survey released last August by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, based on random telephone interviews with 785 youths, use of performance enhancers was reported by 5 percent of participants aged 12 through 17. The samples are considered nationally representative and Blue Cross extrapolated to estimate that about 1 million young people aged 12 through 17 have taken performance-enhancing sports supplements.
"Weekend warriors, young athletes, and people who want to gain energy should not take sports supplements containing ephedra," said Odabashian. "We urge state lawmakers to support efforts to warn consumers about ephedra's hazards and prohibit its sale to minors."
For the past two years, Consumers Union has supported measures introduced in the California Legislature by Senator Jackie Speier that aim to protect consumers from the potential health hazards associated with herbal supplements containing ephedra. SB 397 would require warning labels for these supplements, set up a state mechanism for monitoring adverse effects on consumers, and prohibit their sale to minors. The bill was passed by the Senate but was held without a vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the end of last year's legislative session.
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