Herbal stimulant 'to be banned'

The US government is to ban the herbal stimulant ephedra after it was linked to illnesses in thousands of users.

Products containing ephedra, also known as ma-haung, increase weight loss and boost energy.

The US ban starts in 60 days time, but the public has been told to stop taking ephedra immediately.

In the UK, the sale of ephedra, linked to high blood pressure and even potentially fatal heart attacks and strokes, is already restricted.

Consumers are urged to stop buying and using these products immediately FDA guidance

The US government's decision followed an analysis of more than 16,000 medical incidents, including heart failure, linked to ephedra.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a consumer alert, and is sending advisory notices to 62 manufacturers who produce the supplement to inform them of its decision to issue a ban.

In the alert, the FDA said: "The totality of the available data showed little evidence of ephedra's effectiveness except for short-term weight loss, while confirming that the substance raises blood pressure and otherwise stresses the circulatory system.

"These reactions have been conclusively linked to significant adverse health outcomes, including heart ailments and strokes."

It added: "By informing more than 60 dietary supplement firms about the upcoming final rule, FDA is sending a strong and unambiguous signal that dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids present an unreasonable risk.

"Consumers are urged to stop buying and using these products immediately."

Deaths

Announcing the ban, US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson told a press conference "I can report to you that we are about to ban dietary supplements containing ephedra.

"I don't know why anyone would take ephedra, I wouldn't."

Previous research from the University of California San Francisco looked at 140 reports of adverse effects from taking products containing ephedrine, the active ingredient of ephedra.

It was found ephedrine, "definitely" or "probably" caused an adverse effect in a just under a third of people using it including heart attacks, strokes and hypertension.

Out of 43 people affected, three died, seven suffered permanent injury and four more required on-going medical treatment.

There were another seven deaths in a group of 44 people whose physical symptoms were "possibly" related to ephedrine products.