CRN’s Dickinson on ephedra ban

Trade group president maintains FDA's Dec. 30 announcement of its intention to ban ephedrine alkaloid-containing supplements proves the agency has the authority to remove products presenting an "unreasonable risk" from the marketplace under DSHEA. In an editorial/opinion published in the Jan. 8 USA Today, Annette Dickinson, PhD, appluads FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD/PhD, for exercising the agency's "enforcement power actively." She also disputes arguments that DSHEA does not work because until now, it has not been fully put into practice. "Consumers would be better served by the FDA's continued enforcement of existing law than by Congress' taking a sledgehammer to the law when the most that is needed is a chisel," Dickinson concludes...