Diet Pills

Diet supplements are a huge industry -- in 2001 they reached $2 billion in sales. The most popular is an herb called ephedra (also known as ma huang). In the US, dietary supplements are treated as food rather than medicine by Federal regulators. As such, federal agencies have little oversight on diet pills such as ephedra.

In June 2001 Health Canada (the government department equivalent to the US Health and Human Services department) issued a public advisory to consumers recommending that they not use Ephedra. Canada, the UK and Germany all prohibit the sale of Ephedra. In February 2003 the US Food and Drug Administration proposed placing warning labels on bottles that contain ephedra that the pills can cause heart attacks, strokes, or even death. Additional concerns include that the dosages included in diet pills are often dramatically different than those posted on the bottle, and that additional substances are included in the mix without being listed.

Medical Studies

In 2000, Dr. Christine Haller and Dr. Neal Benowitz performed an independent review of 140 reports of "adverse events" that were associated with ephedra between June 1, 1997 and March 31, 1999. 62% of those cases were deemed definitely, probably or possibly related to the use of ephedra. "Adverse events" included the following:

"Hypertension was the single most frequent adverse effect (17 reports), followed by palpitations, tachycardia, or both (13); stroke (10); and seizures (7). Ten events resulted in death, and 13 events produced permanent disability".