CASSA CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE BAN ON EPHEDRA AND OTHER RELATED DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS!

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The Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam, Selangor (CASSA) today called upon the Health Ministry to immediate ban Ephedra and other dietary supplements which contains the said product, after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had banned the weight-loss herb Ephedra because it poses unreasonable risks such as heart attacks and strokes.

It is pertinent that Malaysian health authorities immediately verify the presence and extent of the usage of the said product in Malaysia.

It is also crucial that an immediate ban be announced and all health stores and pharmacies be notified to recall the said product.

"We need to ascertain if dietary supplements containing (Ephedra) are widespread, have been heavily promoted and widely used by Malaysian consumers.

In view of the threat it poses an immediate ban must be imposed.”

CASSA is advised that Ephedra, also known as ‘ma huang’, is a stimulant that raises blood pressure and stresses the circulatory system, effects that have been linked to serious heart problems, strokes and deaths.

Ephedra is an adrenaline-like stimulant that can have potentially dangerous effects on the heart,"

The FDA has reports of 155 deaths of people who took Ephedra and more than 16,500 complaints.

Ephedra has been promoted for losing weight, boosting energy and enhancing sports performance.

The substance had already been banned by the International Olympic Committee and the National Football League.

CASSA is advised by their US counterparts that in the year 2001, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the government to ban it outright.

CASSA maintains the case of Ephedra makes it clear that there are too many healthy sounding "herbal" potions and pills that can be obtained without a prescription and have not been sufficiently tested to make sure they are safe, let alone effective.

Any product linked to thousands of "adverse" health reports should not be on the market, or at least should be tightly regulated.

The Ministry of Health must move more quickly to protect consumers from questionable products that may endanger lives.

Ephedra, used for weight loss and bodybuilding, has been linked to 155 deaths, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler last February, and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.

Millions of consumers throughout the world have used Ephedra dietary supplements as a safe, inexpensive and effective means by which to support weight loss


Dato' Dr. Jacob George

President/Legal adviser

CASSA