Federal Government Announces Plan to Ban Ephedra

WASHINGTON - After months of debate over the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra, the federal government announced plans to ban sales of the herbal stimulant.

At a midday press conference Dec. 30, 2003, federal health officials stated that the FDA would issue alerts to consumers and manufacturers informing them that a rule banning sales of ephedra would be implemented in 60 days.

"The time to stop using these products is now. They are just too risky to use," said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Reviews of adverse event reports by the Santa Ana, Calif.-based think tank …