[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 160 (Thursday, November 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                EPHEDRA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 6, 2003

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, with the support of my 
colleagues, Representative Jim Greenwood, Representative Greg Walden, 
Representative Henry Waxman and Representative Sweeney, I rise today to 
introduce a resolution calling on Health and Human Services Secretary 
Thompson to remove dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids 
from the marketplace.
  Medical literature indicates that there is a connection between 
ephedra use and heart attacks, strokes, seizures and death. The 
American Medical Association has long held that the risks associated 
with ephedra far outweigh any possible benefits and that the weight of 
the available clinical evidence supports the removal of dietary 
supplement products containing ephedra from the market.
  In addition, the FDA has received at least 16,500 reports regarding 
adverse experiences associated with ephedra use and 155 deaths have 
been conclusively linked to ephedra.
  But, after you wade through the reports and understand the 
statistics, what it comes down to is that individuals are being hurt by 
what they don't know. Consumers don't know that dietary supplements on 
store shelves have not been tested for safety. They don't know that the 
ephedrine/caffeine combination that Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve 
Bechler used last spring was taken off of the shelves by the FDA as an 
over the counter drug, but it continues to be available as a dietary 
supplement.
  I have heard from doctors whose busy days are made more difficult by 
patients taking dietary supplements. One doctor in San Diego wrote:

       Ephedra reports have been going on for years. I think it is 
     the responsibility of the FDA to do something about this 
     since the public cannot respond to new information regarding 
     serious side effects reported in medical journals. My 
     patients ask me why these products are on the market and why 
     they are not regulated by the FDA?

  Why are these products on the market? Many people would like to know 
the answer to this question. With the support of my congressional 
colleagues, I hope we can soon resolve this issue.
  I would like to tell you about another person. ``Margaret,'' as I 
will call her to preserve her privacy, is a 24-year-old woman in 
California who walks with the assistance of a cane. Two years ago, she 
suffered a serious stroke that left her on life support and without 
much hope of survival. But Margaret overcame the odds.
  Her long road to recovery included surgeries and countless physical 
therapy sessions, helping her progress from a wheelchair to a cane. How 
could someone as young as Margaret suffer such a life-threatening 
event? According to her doctor, a reaction between her prescribed 
medication and some over-the-counter diet pills containing ephedra 
caused her stroke.
  I hope the FDA will use its present authority to safeguard our loved 
ones from the risks of unregulated and untested dietary supplements. 
Our families depend on it.

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