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Congress Holds Hearing on Ephedra
Aired October 08, 2002 - 11:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For years, dieters have taken weight loss supplements containing something called ephedra. It's a stimulant that has been linked, though, to dozens of deaths. It has even been promoted on the Internet as an alternative to illegal street drugs. Critics are now lobbying the government to ban the herb.
Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to talk about a Senate hearing taking place today focusing simply on ephedra.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, focusing on ephedra because so many people take it. They might not even realize that they are taking it. They might be taking something, for example, there was the parents of a son who died by taking something called Yellow Jacket. He bought it at a gas station. There have been reports two soldiers at Fort Hood Army base in Texas died after taking products that contained ephedra. Another two at Fort Jackson in South Carolina died after taking ephedra.
We are going to hear from the parents of a teenager who was training for football. He went to the gas station, and spent $1.50 for three pills and here are his parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE RIGGINS, MOTHER: We need to find out what is safe, if it's safe. I don't think it is. They took my only son -- won't bring him back.
KEVIN RIGGINS, FATHER: The problem with ephedra, in my opinion, is that these kids don't realize that it is a harmful drug, whether they call it an herbal supplement or a dietary supplement, that is just semantics. It's a drug. Garlic is an herb. Bay leaf is an herb. But I have never heard of someone dying from that. This herbal supplement killed my son, and I'm just afraid this can happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, the reason why that father was talking so much about this being an herb is because the government regulates herbs or dietary supplements in a very different way from how it regulates drugs. The FDA, when it regulates drugs, if there are enough complaints about it, they take drugs off the market, and they have done that with some frequency and they do it relatively quickly.
However, the government, many years ago, basically deregulated the supplement industry, and so it makes it very difficult for the FDA to act against them. Now, the biggest maker of products that contain ephedra is Metabolife, and we have a statement from Metabolife that defends its products, and what Metabolife says is, "to date, we are aware of over 30 reports and studies supporting the safety and/or efficacy of products that contain ephedrine alkaloids, and we believe Metabolife 356" -- that is a registered trademark -- "offers consumers a safe, effective way to satisfy their weight-loss objectives."
But that is not enough for most experts. In fact, at this hearing, the American Medical Association talked about how it is calling for ephedrine (ph) to be taken off the market.
KAGAN: Completely, so you wouldn't be able to buy a product like Metabolife?
COHEN: Right. That's what the American Medical Association wants, and that is what many people want.
KAGAN: And will this congressional panel be looking at charges that products like this could be harmful?
COHEN: Absolutely. That is what they have done. They have an investigative report, which is -- we have a copy of it right here which has just come out, and it is aimed, actually, just solely at Metabolife.
We have a bottle of the Metabolife product here, and the reason why is that they are the biggest maker, and there has been some concern that Metabolife has been hiding some of the problems with its products.
I'm going to read to you from the conclusion of this report.
It says, "Metabolife has long been aware of nearly 2,000 reports of significant adverse events involving its products, but it has denied to the FDA that it had received any such reports. These reports include reports of heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and even death.
So what this investigative report from Congress is saying, this is coming out just today, is that Metabolife knew that its products were causing seizures, heart attacks, death, but they did not tell the FDA. And this is a report that was commissioned by Senator Durbin, who held the hearing today.
KAGAN: I imagine more will be coming out as that goes on throughout the day.
COHEN: Absolutely, absolutely.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.
COHEN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 8, 2002 - 11:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For years, dieters have taken weight loss supplements containing something called ephedra. It's a stimulant that has been linked, though, to dozens of deaths. It has even been promoted on the Internet as an alternative to illegal street drugs. Critics are now lobbying the government to ban the herb.
Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to talk about a Senate hearing taking place today focusing simply on ephedra.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, focusing on ephedra because so many people take it. They might not even realize that they are taking it. They might be taking something, for example, there was the parents of a son who died by taking something called Yellow Jacket. He bought it at a gas station. There have been reports two soldiers at Fort Hood Army base in Texas died after taking products that contained ephedra. Another two at Fort Jackson in South Carolina died after taking ephedra.
We are going to hear from the parents of a teenager who was training for football. He went to the gas station, and spent $1.50 for three pills and here are his parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE RIGGINS, MOTHER: We need to find out what is safe, if it's safe. I don't think it is. They took my only son -- won't bring him back.
KEVIN RIGGINS, FATHER: The problem with ephedra, in my opinion, is that these kids don't realize that it is a harmful drug, whether they call it an herbal supplement or a dietary supplement, that is just semantics. It's a drug. Garlic is an herb. Bay leaf is an herb. But I have never heard of someone dying from that. This herbal supplement killed my son, and I'm just afraid this can happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, the reason why that father was talking so much about this being an herb is because the government regulates herbs or dietary supplements in a very different way from how it regulates drugs. The FDA, when it regulates drugs, if there are enough complaints about it, they take drugs off the market, and they have done that with some frequency and they do it relatively quickly.
However, the government, many years ago, basically deregulated the supplement industry, and so it makes it very difficult for the FDA to act against them. Now, the biggest maker of products that contain ephedra is Metabolife, and we have a statement from Metabolife that defends its products, and what Metabolife says is, "to date, we are aware of over 30 reports and studies supporting the safety and/or efficacy of products that contain ephedrine alkaloids, and we believe Metabolife 356" -- that is a registered trademark -- "offers consumers a safe, effective way to satisfy their weight-loss objectives."
But that is not enough for most experts. In fact, at this hearing, the American Medical Association talked about how it is calling for ephedrine (ph) to be taken off the market.
KAGAN: Completely, so you wouldn't be able to buy a product like Metabolife?
COHEN: Right. That's what the American Medical Association wants, and that is what many people want.
KAGAN: And will this congressional panel be looking at charges that products like this could be harmful?
COHEN: Absolutely. That is what they have done. They have an investigative report, which is -- we have a copy of it right here which has just come out, and it is aimed, actually, just solely at Metabolife.
We have a bottle of the Metabolife product here, and the reason why is that they are the biggest maker, and there has been some concern that Metabolife has been hiding some of the problems with its products.
I'm going to read to you from the conclusion of this report.
It says, "Metabolife has long been aware of nearly 2,000 reports of significant adverse events involving its products, but it has denied to the FDA that it had received any such reports. These reports include reports of heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and even death.
So what this investigative report from Congress is saying, this is coming out just today, is that Metabolife knew that its products were causing seizures, heart attacks, death, but they did not tell the FDA. And this is a report that was commissioned by Senator Durbin, who held the hearing today.
KAGAN: I imagine more will be coming out as that goes on throughout the day.
COHEN: Absolutely, absolutely.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.
COHEN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
