Well it looks as though the wonderful Canadian government is once again refusing to allow people to be responsible for they’re own actions:
Nervous Rx
Health Canada is cracking down on maverick drug marketers packing their products with too much of a dangerous stimulant.
It asked Wednesday that any product containing a certain level of ephedrine be pulled off the shelves after exposure to high levels of the drug produced some extreme side effects. The national inspection agency found that cases of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, even seizures, psychosis and death were associated with the use of any of several derivatives of a herb known as Ephedra sinica, or by its Chinese name Ma Huang. The recall is voluntary.
Health Canada said it would approve only of those drugs which include both proper labeling and come in doses of less than 8mg. To be compliant, the drugs must advise that the upper limit for daily dosage is 32mg.
How do you know what’s safe? First, off, all drugs that have passed inspection and received approval for sale in Canada will feature an eight digit Drug Identification Number somewhere on the package.
Health Canada warned consumers to watch for products:
With a dose unit of more than eight milligrams of ephedrine.
That recommend a single dose greater than eight milligrams or more than 32 milligrams a day.
That combine ephedrine and stimulants, such as caffeine.
That claim to aid appetite suppression, promote weight loss, enhance metabolism, increase exercise tolerance, aid body-building, cause euphoria or other stimulative effects.
January 9, 2002