Free Republic

In one of the most reactionary moves in recent memory, the Federal government early this year instituted a ban on all sales of the wildly popular diet product ephedra. A smattering of high profile deaths from people who should not have been using ephedra, but nonetheless did, drove a campaign to have the product taken off the market. Not one to think anecdotes are a good substitute for science and empirical data, I don't believe there was any justification in taking ephedra off the market. I still believe the ban ought to be revisited and overturned. Nonetheless, the aftermath of...

The widow of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler has sued the manufacturer and the distributor of a dietary supplement containing ephedra for $600 million. The 23-year-old Bechler was taking the supplement to lose weight at the start of spring training when he collapsed Feb. 16 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. His body temperature rose to more than 108 degrees and he died the next day. A bottle of Xenadrine RFA-1 was found in Bechler's locker. Toxicology tests confirmed "significant amounts" of an over-the-counter supplement containing ephedra led to Bechler's heatstroke, along with other factors, the medical examiner said. The lawsuit, filed...