Statement by Sen. Dick Durbin Regarding Today's Federal Court Ruling on Ephedra

STATEMENT BY SEN. DICK DURBIN REGARDING TODAY'S FEDERAL COURT RULING ON EPHEDRA

Today, a federal district court in Utah sided with Nutraceutical International Corp. in its challenge of the Food and Drug Administration's ban on the dietary supplement ephedra. Ephedra had been linked to more than 150 deaths prior to April 2004 when it was banned.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

"Today's ruling in Utah underscores the need for a mandatory and uniform system of reporting adverse health events that result from use of certain dietary supplements. It is clear that had such a system been in place today, the court would have had ample evidence of whether or not ephedra was dangerous."

"Today's case also raises important questions about whether the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) must be changed in order to protect the American consumer. If the FDA does not have sufficient authority to recall a dangerous product like ephedra from the market under this law, we need to make those changes. Congress can make those changes, and I will continue working to pass this important measure to protect the public health."

"It is impossible for anyone to calculate exactly how many people have had their lives ended or their health ruined by dangerous supplements since I first began working on this issue three years ago, but whether it was 500 or 5, it was too many."

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=236579&&