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CONSUMERS UNION CALLS ON CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONSIDER CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST METABOLIFE
Company
Executives May Have Violated California's Corporate Criminal
Liability Act By Failing to Notify State Officials About Ephedra Hazards
SAN FRANCISCO - Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, called on California Attorney General Bill Lockyer today to investigate whether executives of San Diego-based Metabolife violated a California law by failing to alert state officials about hazards associated with the use of its dietary supplements containing ephedra. The consumer group called for the investigation a few days after California Governor Gray Davis signed a new state law that bans the sale of ephedra supplements to minors and requires warning labels on such products.
Under California's Corporate Criminal Liability Act, managers of businesses, including officers and executives, can face criminal prosecution for concealing dangers in products or workplace settings that could put consumers or workers at risk of death or injury if they fail to notify state officials within fifteen days of learning of the defects.
"Metabolife recently acknowledged to federal regulators that it has collected thousands of reports of adverse reactions to its dietary supplements containing ephedra," said Betsy Imholz, Director of Consumers Union's West Coast Regional Office. "If company officials at Metabolife knew of the serious hazards associated with ephedra and failed to properly notify California officials about them, then they should face criminal prosecution."
According to recent news reports, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has been seeking cooperation from Metabolife for some time to ascertain what adverse medical events had been reported to the company concerning its products. The company reportedly had refused to cooperate with the FDA. In August 2002, Metabolife finally turned over to the FDA 13,000 health complaints dating back as far as 1997, some apparently involving deaths associated with the product.
Serious concerns are mounting about the health risks of weight loss and sports supplements that contain ephedra products, particularly their ill effects on children. Canada and at least ten U.S. states and several local governments have imposed various restrictions on ephedra sales, such as requiring a prescription, outlawing sales to minors, or limiting the maximum dose. Ephedra, an herbal supplement also known as "ma huang," may be the most hazardous of the popular diet and sports supplements. It acts as an amphetamine. Many of these supplements combine ephedra with at least one other stimulant, usually caffeine. Nearly two decades ago, the FDA found the combination of ephedrine and caffeine so dangerous that it banned it from over-the-counter drugs.
Two recent independent studies in peer-reviewed journals scrutinized more than 1,000 adverse event reports filed with the FDA between 1995 and 1999. Of those, the researchers found dozens of cases of abnormal heartbeats, strokes, and heart attacks they felt were likely related to ephedra use. Twenty-four of the victims died and forty-seven suffered strokes and other serious injuries.
Consumers Union was instrumental in creating the California Corporate Criminal Liability statute, signed into law by then-Governor George Deukmejian in 1990, as an appropriate law enforcement tool aimed at preventing socially unacceptable acts by the people who run businesses. A victim is not required in order to prosecute under Penal Code § 387; proof of knowledge of a concealed danger (as defined by the statute) and failure to report it are the necessary elements. California is the only state with a law that requires individuals within businesses, which could include Chief Executive Officers, to report known, hidden dangers in the products or workplaces under their management. Failure to notify the appropriate state agency could be a felonious act under the statute.
"The deaths and injuries that have been linked to ephedra use once again reminds us of the need for greater accountability, both by corporations and by the people who run them, when they knowingly sell dangerous, defective products to consumers," said Imholz. "Corporate executives need to know that they may face jail time and financial penalties for failing to properly notify California officials about dangerous products."
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Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization, serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect the consumers.
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