Ephedra Supplement

A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of former Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler transferred to New Jersey, where it can be consolidated with 52 other claims against an ephedra-product-making company in bankruptcy proceedings. Wheeler, a 22-year-old La Verne Damien High graduate who was a senior safety for the Wildcats, died Aug. 3, 2001, after collapsing on a practice field during an intense set of wind sprints.

Wes Siegner is trying to save ephedra, the herbal stimulant that is under attack from a chorus of critics who say it is dangerous to your health. Even opponents of the lobbyist marvel at his victories so far, but it is looking more and more as if he is fighting a losing battle. Siegner's task grew more difficult last month with news of a federal investigation of Metabolife International, a leading seller of ephedra in the United States.

The former Metabolife International Inc. said in a court document filed Wednesday that it had reached agreements to settle the first 21 of hundreds of injury and death lawsuits over its once best-selling ephedra-based dietary supplement. About $4.7 million of the San Diego-based company's insurance coverage would pay the claims if approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge, court documents suggest.

The mother of the late Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler is considering a settlement with an ephedra product maker after a federal judge grouped the family's wrongful death lawsuit against the university with more than 50 other suits in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. Northwestern has named New Jersey-based Nutraquest Inc.

The federal government's criminal investigation into Metabolife International has once again cast a spotlight on makers of ephedra dietary supplements--an unregulated, multibillion-dollar industry that has generally prospered despite criticisms and is looking to capitalize on heightened concerns about obesity.

Wary consumers are beginning to shy away from diet preparations containing ephedra, with U.S. sales of some of the most popular brands falling 30% or more over the last year. But some researchers and lawmakers worry that without a change in federal law, untested substitutes will take their place. Concern about ephedra has grown in recent months with a series of deaths among professional athletes who had been taking ephedra weight-loss products.

Legislation outlawing the sale in California of dietary supplements containing ephedra was approved Wednesday without debate by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), who introduced the bill, told the committee that dietary supplements are not regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration, but that there is a "mountain of evidence now that ephedra is very dangerous" to health.

The ephedra industry, disputing reports linking the herbal stimulant to the death of Baltimore Oriole pitcher Steve Bechler, insisted Thursday that its product is safe and, as proof, pointed to the lack of government action to restrict its use. "We take our lead from the government, from [Health and Human Services Secretary] Tommy [G.] Thompson, that ephedra should remain in the hands of consumers," said Dr. Carlon M.

Two years after federal health officials wanted warning labels on ephedra, the Bush administration instead is ordering a start-from-scratch safety review of the herb, which has been linked to dozens of deaths. The move prompted outrage from consumer advocates and doctors who want ephedra banned, citing the dietary supplement's link to heart attacks and strokes. "This is a black day in medicine," said Dr.

Public health officials in Texas, citing "advice" from the Bush administration, have suspended enforcement of a new state regulation designed to protect athletes and other users of dietary supplements. The Texas regulation centers on supplements that contain ephedrine, a powerful stimulant that is suspected of causing at least 80 deaths nationally. The new rule requires the labels on those products to provide a toll-free number for reporting suspected side effects to the U.S.