Judge lifts U.S. ban on ephedra

Ephedra could be back on the market in the United States, nearly a year after the use of the herbal dietary supplement.

Judge Tena Campbell on Thursday struck down the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on ephedra, saying the law requires the FDA to prove a dietary supplement is harmful.

Campbell ruled in favor of Nutraceutical, a Utah supplement company that contended ephedra "has been safely consumed" for hundreds of years, and that ephedra was wrongly being regulated by the FDA as a drug and not a food.

Typically made as a tea, ephedra is traditionally used as a nasal decongestant and to help asthmatics.

Nutraceutical president Bruce Hough said he interprets Thursday's decision to mean the company is allowed to start selling ephedra supplements again, but didn't say whether it will put the products back on the market.

By the late 1990s, the FDA had documented more than 800 cases of illnesses and injuries to people who used products containing ephedrine.

After 16,000 adverse reactions were reported, ephedra diet drugs were banned in the U.S. and restricted in Canada.

Promoted as a weight-loss aid and energy booster to enhance sports performance, it was linked to the death of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler.

Bechler died after a Spring Training workout on Feb. 17, 2003.

The pitcher took over-the-counter diet pills containing ephedra to lose weight gained during the off-season.

Despite its dangers, Major League Baseball still allows the use of ephedra, unlike the National Football League, International Olympic Committee and National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Ephedra Free