Big Media Applaud Ban on Ephedra

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This article was originally posted several years ago- but it bears

repeating...

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

BIG MEDIA APPLAUD BAN ON EPHEDRA JoAnn Guest Mar 17, 2005 18:40

PST

 

by Cliff Kincaid, Editor of the AIM Report

http://www.thenhf.com/articles_14.htm

December 31, 2003

 

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson says

Americans making New Year's resolutions to lose weight should do so

without products containing ephedra. The major media should adopt a

resolution not to serve as lapdogs for Thompson's agency by helping

the trial lawyers destroy the dietary supplement industry. The ban

on ephedra is the first step in this campaign.

 

The coverage of this controversy demonstrates that the media bias in

favor of big government is back. The only difference this time is

that it is Republican big government. It's no wonder that some

conservatives are despondent over the President's failure to rein in

the federal bureaucracy.

 

CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather said the government was moving

against ephedra " after years of doing nothing. " NBC Nightly News

anchor Tom Brokaw said that the government was moving to " protect "

people.

 

The liberal theme was that the federal government acted too slowly

in preventing Americans from freely choosing an herbal product that

has been in use for thousands of years and which has been taken

safely by millions of Americans to lose weight and boost energy.

 

At the HHS news conference announcing the ban, a commissioner from

the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Mark McClellan, said that it

" appears " that ephedra is linked to strokes, heart problems, and

death. This is what passes for science these days. There is no

scientifically established causal connection, and the government

knows it.

 

But the Naderite Public Citizen organization has been agitating for

this ban. In league with other Naderite groups, it wants to control

what Americans are allowed to eat and ingest. Sidney Wolfe of Public

Citizen made appearances on all three network evening news programs

and was identified by Linda Douglass of ABC World News Tonight as a

valiant " consumer activist. "

 

Curiously, Public Citizen has backed access to marijuana, an illegal

substance more carcinogenic and deadly than tobacco, on the

fraudulent ground that it is medicine. The " medical marijuana " hoax

is a naked ploy that some are using just to get high.

 

In promoting the ephedra ban, the media have repeatedly cited the

tragic case of Baltimore pitcher Steve Bechler, whose death has

been " linked " to the substance. The media don't bother to explain

that while there was ephedra in his blood, he in fact died from

heatstroke. He was working out with the Orioles during warm and

humid weather and was out-of-shape, overweight, on a diet and hadn't

eaten much solid food over the previous two days. He also reportedly

had liver problems and borderline high blood pressure. He took three

pills with ephedra when he should have taken only two.

 

Many companies have already discontinued distributing ephedra

because of the threat of lawsuits. The trial lawyers are salivating

at the prospect of shaking down the dietary supplement industry for

billions of dollars. Interestingly enough, the Public Citizen

website features an article griping about the December 15 Newsweek

cover story, " Lawsuit Hell, " on how litigation is harming America.

The group favors such litigation in order to guarantee " consumers'

access to the courts, " even if industries and professions are ruined

and many jobs are lost in the process.

 

One legal website highlights Public Citizen releases urging an

ephedra ban and declares, " If you or a family member has been

injured, contact a personal injury attorney today. " Class action

lawsuits have already been filed. More clients are being solicited.

Strike it rich by blaming your health problems on ephedra!

 

One journalist admitted that " bad press " about the supplement had

dried up insurance coverage for some ephedra makers. But the bad

press continued, with claims that an earlier ban on ephedra " might "

have saved Bechler's life. It's true that he " died after taking

ephedra during last spring training, " but there were other more

significant factors in the case. The media refer to 155 deaths,

implying that the supplement was somehow scientifically determined

to be the causal factor in all of these cases. There is no evidence

for such a wild charge.

 

Ruling out ephedra for weight loss or fitness, Dr. McClellan said,

" There are far better, safer ways to get in better shape. " He

assured us that the government wants us all to " enjoy a long and

healthy life. " The Big Media applauded this Big Government

announcement. And the trial lawyers operating behind the scenes are

laughing all the way to the bank.

 

 

Please click here to refer to our Ephedra page for additional

information.

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes