DrugBuyers.Com: Government Bans Ephedra

Ive been taking ephedrine for about 7 yrs on and off. Never had any problems. Just like aspirin if you take too many you have problems or if you have and underlying problem then yeah it can effect you. If your not used to caffine and you take ephedra then yeah you trip or have side effects you have never felt. Most of those problems that come with ephedra like any other drug or medicine is that is has some kind of side effects and has warnings that come with it. If its 105 degrees out and you take it and playing sports of course your going to have a problem on top of you probably not taking enough water. If you take 10 pills of course you will have a problem. Did you know ephedrine is used for asthma patients? So if you prescribed it just could you stop all the side effects or problems? No of course not people are just to lazy to do research and find out info on meds or supplements they take. Then they start crying how it effected them when they probably didn't even read the label on it!

Of course, all of this is assuming that the body in question is healthy,
the
dosages of ephedrine involved are not excessive (recommended dosage for
average adult: 32mg per day), there are no hazardous drug interactions, and
that there are no serious allergic reactions to the drug. Failing these has
sometimes lead to more serious side effects, including an irregular
heartbeat (heart palpitations), dizziness, nausea, and in the most serious
cases, even death. These are NOT common, however. Between the years of
1993,
and 1996 there were 15 ephedrine-related deaths reported (although it is
unclear as to how many of them found ephedrine to be the major contributing
factor in the death). When these kind of serious side effects do occur, it
is often due to negligent use - overdose, improper and hazardous chemical
interactions, and the like.

Let's "put [these numbers]. . . into perspective," suggests author Larry
Hobbs and Dr. Edwin Ford. "That's about 5 deaths a year [attributed to
ephedrine]. . . Every year 400 children die in bike accidents, 400 people
die from ibuprofen overdose, 500 people die from contaminated hamburgers,
etc, etc etc . . . and 400,000 people die from smoking-related causes. This
means that more people die every year from eating hamburgers than have died
in the last 100 years from taking ephedrine." While I doubt that's any
consolation to the families who've lost loved ones in ephedrine related
cases, it IS important for the rest of us in weighing the benefits with the
risks. Mr. Hobbs and Dr. Ford do go on to state that "there are an
estimated
55 million people who are obese in the US, with 300,000 of them dying every
year from obesity-related causes. If ephedrine helps even a tiny fraction
of
the obese population to lose weight it is likely to save hundreds or
thousands of lives every year."4

Hobbs, Larry & Ford, Edwin H. Ephedrine & Caffeine: the Ideal Diet
Pill?,
Pragmatic Press, 1996, 14