Study calls for major reforms in marketing of ephedra
ROCHESTER, Minn. - In a study published in the August 2003 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers found that some Web sites that advertise dietary herbal supplements containing the popular weight-loss dietary supplement ephedra fail to disclose potential adverse effects and make misleading statements about the safety, use and efficacy of the supplements. Researchers suggest that by misleading consumers, the Web sites could be in violation of truth-in-advertising standards.
"In our study we clearly document the need to change the way ephedra products are advertised," says Bimal Ashar, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. "Since this article was written, there have been new steps taken by the Food and Drug Administration to investigate whether ephedra products should be more tightly regulated."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-scf081103.php