Ephedra & Silicone Implants are BAAAACK, now that we have lawsuit reform!

[elehhhhna]

Is it me or do y'all find this a weird coincidence?

Will the Pinto make a comeback?

Thalidomide, anyone?

[Dulcinea]

1. Ephedra is back?

Do you have a link?

[derby378]

4. Here's one

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/14/ephedra.suit.ap/index.html

We must take out DSHEA. Now.

[Hugin]

2. Woohoo! I want flames painted on the front of mine!

"Will the Pinto make a comeback?"

To match the flames shooting from the rear!



:crazy:

[Zynx]

3. I've used Ephedra - you'd have to *try* to kill yourself with it

If your body doesn't like it, it really doesn't like it, and boy does it let you know it. At which point you throw it in the garbage.

Provided people don't ignore very obvious, painful warning signs such as their heart behaving like a jackhammer on crack, Ephedra is actually fairly safe.

[Hugin]

6. You go right ahead and keep using it Zynx...

:sarcasm:

Just be sure to make a little donation to some charity
which helps victims of eating disorders.

[Zynx]

8. What's that supposed to mean?

It's similar to an amphetimine (sp?) in effect. If you don't react well, you will know it really fast and you can stop.

It cannot cause some sort of instant death shock on its own or something like that - you really have to try. It's like someone who puts on a rubber suit and locks himself in a sauna to cut weight.

Frankly, I have zero sympathy for someone who continues to take something after it feels like it almost made their heart explode. At some point, you need to count on the consumer not to step in front of buses.

~

It doesn't even compare to something like Vioxx which is inherently dangerous to people who don't even know they would be at risk.

[Hugin]

9. Here's the point...

In our body image mandated advertising run society...

Young girls are driven to take huge amounts of weight loss
supplements to try to compete with the 12 year old air-brushed
"twiggys" which are forced down their throats by the CRM.

They take it not knowing the long term effects of Ephedrine.
(and other stimulants).

So, what you say here is *exactly* true for Ephedrine as well.

"It doesn't even compare to something like Vioxx which is inherently dangerous to people who don't even know they would be at risk."

Yes, it is exactly the same thing.

BTW... Where've you been during this whole Terri S. hooplah?

She ended up on the feeding tube due to a eating disorder caused
chemical imbalance.

[flvegan]

12. Ephedra (ma huang) has been used for centuries outside this country.

So, I'd say that we do know some long term effects of it.

Not everyone uses it for weight control/metabolic manipulation.

[Hugin]

15. Maybe *you* do... But, ...

The people who are chronically using it in a hopeless quest
to become famous by being as skinny as <insert corporate ho
name here> *aren't* aware of Ephedra's dangers.

[flvegan]

17. I'm not denying that point.

My point is that there are a lot of broad, generalized statements being thrown around about certain points.

Ephedra does have it's dangers, as does everything else, but as has been proven, it can be used safely.

[Zynx]

22. You take too much of anything, you're probably going to kill yourself

That includes water and oxygen. Not to mention any metabolism-altering drug I can think of, all painkillers, etc.

If people want to be supremely self-destructive or don't feel a need to read warning labels and recommended doses, there's only so much you can do.

And someone with an eating disorder has much bigger problems than ephedra being available again. These people need professional help plain and simple, not one of the many, many things they can and will abuse taken off the shelves.

[Hugin]

24. See post #21...

I give up... There is no compassion left anymore.

It's everyone for themselves!

I'm off to listen to John Lennon's "Watching the wheels go
'round and 'round."

Call me when people start giving a sh*t again.

[elehhhhna]

30. Please elaborate. How does this relate to the Pinto and Thalydomide?

[MadHound]

32. But what about those poor souls

Who DO have a heart problem, don't know about it, and decide to try out Ephedra? Bang, they're dead, first time. If I remember correctly, it was incidences like that that got Ephedra yanked in the first place.

And other than promoting an unhealthy weight loss, what is it good for anyway?

[Dulcinea]

7. I have too.

Nothing cleared my sinuses faster or better.

And no, I don't have an eating disorder.

[flyarm]

20. well if you have a weakness in your heart you don't know about..it

can be fatal with no warnings...
please please..don't take this stuff..
i know oftwo young men who didnt know of heart weaknesses who died instantly with a little physical exertion..

my son was an athlete..and one of his teamates died instantly on a field in warmups!!

please this stuff is dangerous unless you constantly have medical attention to check your heart rate and to check your heart condition prior to taking it..and under strct controls...

please please if you are young and reading this..do not experiment with this stuff..it "is " dangerous!!

fly

[Bridget Burke]

5. Thalidomide is back.

However, it's used for cancer therapy, not as a pill to treat morning sickness. It is highly regulated--most drugs used for cancer therapy are NOT recommended for pregnant women.

If the FDA had been like this back in the day, we would have large numbers of thalidomide victims here--born in the late 50's through early 60's. One stubborn investigator stalled approval; then the truth came out.

[MsTryska]

10. I'm thrilled that Ephedra is back.

it never should have gone in the first place.

[Hugin]

11. Some background for ya...

Good eats...

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/ephedrine/

[MsTryska]

13. Don't need the background -

was fighting the case before it got banned in the first place.


Aspirin has more deaths per year than ephedra.

[Hugin]

16. I wasn't aware aspirin was being misused as a...

weight loss supplement.

"Aspirin has more deaths per year than ephedra."

Also, Aspirin has saved more lives per year than ephedra.

[MsTryska]

18. Heh.....then you don't know about ECA stacking....

which is combining Ephedrine, Caffeine AND Aspirin to make a thermogenic complex.


And i'm sure there are asthmatics that disagree with you on the uselessness of ephedra (ma huang) as well.


In any case - imo, if you misuses a substance - ANY substance - and you suffer the consequences of said misuse - this is your fault, not the fault of the substance in question.


But hey - not everyone believes in personal responsibilty i guess. And we wonder why we get labelled nanny-staters.

[Hugin]

21. I give up...

As I sit here looking at a picture of a 5lb. container of Ephedra.

I'm thinking... "There must be some awfully stuffed up noses
out there."

BTW... I'm asthmatic. ;)

But, what's it to me if Madison Ave. gets it's way and kills
off a generation of young girls.

[MsTryska]

25. Madison Ave's affects on young girls

has less to do with Ephedra than it does with image, values and the constant pressure to be a size 0.

ephedra abuse is a symptom - the underlying cause is societal pressure.


IMO it would make more sense to ban all images of woman as coat-rack/swimsuit model/sexual object than it does to ban ephedra.

might as well ban the gym. ban syrup of ipecac. ban ho-hos because someone can binge on them. ban diuretics and laxatives.

do you see where the argument stops making sense?

[Hugin]

26. I'm not endorsing bans...

I am, however, endorsing educating people on the dangers of
misusing powerful drugs and food supplements.

These are kids we're talking about and most of them don't
know any better.

We're supposed to be protecting them... But, what the heck,
let's go bomb somebody. Just don't interfere with my drug
abuse.

[MsTryska]

27. Yes. Endorsing Education is MUCH different from Endorsing

a Ban. and I agree with that.

But when giving facts, it behooves one to give ALL the facts. Most of what i saw in the ephedra hysteria was overblown, and hysterical. Not necessarily fact-based at all.


yes a woman was taking ephedra based supplements and dropped dead on treadmill. What was her diet like, how much ephedrine was she taking, was she following the label, what other supplements was she using, how much exercise did she get a day? was she montoring her heart rate?


it's easy to say ephedra killed this woman because she had a heart attack, but it just as easily could have been that her electrolytes were out of balance, because she wasn't eating, took overdoses of calcium supplements, was dehydrated and was pushing herself to the limit on that treadmill, all while taking ephedra.

My point is we have to look at things holistically - not scream bloody murder with only half the facts. Education is key. learn the facts and you have less of a tendency to get hysterical.

[uncle ray]

29. it's about time someone said

legalize marijuana!

there's not much more pathetic than people who would never smoke pot or do other drugs because they are ILLEGAL!! fight, no, BEG for things like ephedra and their prescription narcotics. morans.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. DDT in next hey lets bring back the Pinto, Covair & deadly baby cribs too!

[BigMcLargehuge]

19. and flamable pajamas, can't forget those!

[elehhhhna]

31. Those darned babies should READ THE WARNINGS!

[DeepModem Mom]

23. You know what -- you're exactly right. OMG! nt

[amazona]

28. ephedra (Mormon tea) actually grows wild in Utah

I've seen it. I don't think it should have been banned in the first place. Let me decide which of nature's herbs I want to ingest. Aspirin kills way more than people than ephedra ever did.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[ThorsHammer]

33. I don't think Ephedra should have been banned; I would like to see more

information made available though. Like anything, it can be very dangerous when abused. I don't think many of people were aware of its dangers, and thought it if one pill was good, then 2 or 3 must be better. In addition to overdosing, a lot of people had existing heart problems, were overweight, or took it during very hot weather. I don't have a problem with it being back on the market, but think that manufacturers should be made to disclose the potential side effects prominently. I also think it should be restricted to those 18 or older.