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Senate Takes up Ephedra
Aired October 08, 2002 - 14:50 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A controversial dietary supplement falls under the congressional microscope today. A Senate oversight committee is looking at what Washington is doing to protect consumers from Ephedra.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is following that hearing. She brings us more information -- a bit disturbing.
Hi -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, yes, some of the testimony today was a bit disturbing. Ephedra is a very common dietary supplement. You find it in supplements that say these will help you lose weight or these will give you energy. At the hearing today, an Illinois couple talked about how their 16-year-old son died after taking Ephedra.
(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. It 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's just semantics. It's a drug. Garlic's an herb. Bay leaf's an herb. But I have never heard of someone dying from bay leaf. But this herbal supplement killed my son. And I'm just afraid this can happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: I have here the supplement that Sean Riggins took before he died. He was a football player who was apparently looking for a little bit of energy. It's called Yellow Jacket. There are three pills here for $1.50. Sean Riggins apparently bought it at a gas station. The makers of this particular supplement were not at the hearing. However, the makers of Metabolife, a very popular supplement that contains Ephedra, were, and they say if taken directly, it's safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANNY DAVIS, METABOLIFE ATTORNEY: Our product is for weight control purposes ,and only marketed for weight control purposes -- and only marketed for adults. Our label says consult a physician before you use our product for weight control. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, that wasn't enough for the American Medical Association. The American Medical Association says these manufacturers may say that the supplements are safe, we don't think they are, we think they ought to come off the market.
As far as what Washington can do, many years the Congress passed what's called the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is an acronym for an act that basically deregulated the supplement industry. So if Ephedra were a drug, the FDA could move relatively quickly to take it off the market. But when it's a dietary supplement, to some extent, the FDA's are tied.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth, how do you know if it's a drug or an herb, and if indeed you stay away from it all together?
COHEN: Consumers really don't know, Kyra. And that's part of the problem. You go to the drug store, you see something on the shelf. One thing on the shelf may have received FDA approval and been put under great scrutiny by the government, and then another one may not have received much scrutiny at all.
Something interesting happened at the hearing, which is that Metabolife -- which, again, is the maker of a popular supplement -- came under fire in an investigative report that the Congress did. The Congress said, Look, FDA has been asking you for years -- have there ever been reports of anything bad happened to people when using the supplement. And according to the report, Metabolife always said, No, nothing bad has happened. We haven't received any complaints. When the Congress actually looked into it, what they found was this: They said, "Metabolife has long been aware of 2,000 reports of adverse events, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and even death, but it denied to the FDA that it had received any reports."
So Metabolife in particular really came under fire in this hearing -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
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 - 14:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A controversial dietary supplement falls under the congressional microscope today. A Senate oversight committee is looking at what Washington is doing to protect consumers from Ephedra.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is following that hearing. She brings us more information -- a bit disturbing.
Hi -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, yes, some of the testimony today was a bit disturbing. Ephedra is a very common dietary supplement. You find it in supplements that say these will help you lose weight or these will give you energy. At the hearing today, an Illinois couple talked about how their 16-year-old son died after taking Ephedra.
(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. It 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's just semantics. It's a drug. Garlic's an herb. Bay leaf's an herb. But I have never heard of someone dying from bay leaf. But this herbal supplement killed my son. And I'm just afraid this can happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: I have here the supplement that Sean Riggins took before he died. He was a football player who was apparently looking for a little bit of energy. It's called Yellow Jacket. There are three pills here for $1.50. Sean Riggins apparently bought it at a gas station. The makers of this particular supplement were not at the hearing. However, the makers of Metabolife, a very popular supplement that contains Ephedra, were, and they say if taken directly, it's safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANNY DAVIS, METABOLIFE ATTORNEY: Our product is for weight control purposes ,and only marketed for weight control purposes -- and only marketed for adults. Our label says consult a physician before you use our product for weight control. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, that wasn't enough for the American Medical Association. The American Medical Association says these manufacturers may say that the supplements are safe, we don't think they are, we think they ought to come off the market.
As far as what Washington can do, many years the Congress passed what's called the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is an acronym for an act that basically deregulated the supplement industry. So if Ephedra were a drug, the FDA could move relatively quickly to take it off the market. But when it's a dietary supplement, to some extent, the FDA's are tied.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth, how do you know if it's a drug or an herb, and if indeed you stay away from it all together?
COHEN: Consumers really don't know, Kyra. And that's part of the problem. You go to the drug store, you see something on the shelf. One thing on the shelf may have received FDA approval and been put under great scrutiny by the government, and then another one may not have received much scrutiny at all.
Something interesting happened at the hearing, which is that Metabolife -- which, again, is the maker of a popular supplement -- came under fire in an investigative report that the Congress did. The Congress said, Look, FDA has been asking you for years -- have there ever been reports of anything bad happened to people when using the supplement. And according to the report, Metabolife always said, No, nothing bad has happened. We haven't received any complaints. When the Congress actually looked into it, what they found was this: They said, "Metabolife has long been aware of 2,000 reports of adverse events, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and even death, but it denied to the FDA that it had received any reports."
So Metabolife in particular really came under fire in this hearing -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
