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From Dallas to Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis on ephedra The heatstroke death of a Baltimore Orioles pitcher has again focused attention on the dangers of ephedra as a weight-loss aid. But this country's nonprescription drug problem is much larger than one risky diet pill. Americans use two kinds of drugs to fight disease and promote health. One type, available by prescription or over the pharmacy counter, must pass scientific muster for safety and effectiveness. The other, sold at nutrition stores or by mail, gets no independent review. Ephedra is an example of both. In synthetic or concentrated form, and offered as the cold medication ephedrine, it must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Purchasers have FDA's assurance that the product is pure, safe and reasonably effective. But in "natural" form, ephedra compounds can be made and sold without any independent testing whatever - as long as makers limit the health claims they put on their labels. Of course they find other routes, like magazine articles and retail sales pitches, for making the prohibited claims. Thus millions of Americans know ephedra as a fat burner, a workout booster, a study aid and a recreational "legal speed." Some may expect that ephedra products have been tested to assure that they perform as advertised. More, probably, conclude that if a drug is available without prescription, it's got to be safe. *** FDA is a passive recipient of these danger signals; it doesn't require supplement companies to turn over the complaints they receive. Ephedra has been the subject of some 1,400 complaints to FDA in recent years, more than 50 of which implicate it as a cause of death. Later this spring the agency will probably start proceedings to ban it. ... Full-fledged regulation of all vitamins, herbs and supplements by FDA is neither realistic nor necessary. This means self-prescribing consumers will still be on their own to guard against overuse, overdose and drug interactions. ... Dallas Morning News on FCC Internet ruling For years, SBC Communications and other regional telephone companies have complained that unfair federal and state regulations have hindered them from aggressively investing in high-speed Internet networks. So, under pressure of a court order, the Federal Communications Commission last week exempted new high-speed networks from line-sharing rules. Guess what? The regional phone companies still aren't happy. ... The FCC tried to split the difference, ruling that the regional companies must continue to share their telephone lines with local service competitors, but would not be required to share new high-speed networks. The problem is that the rulings don't fairly serve either master. The former means that upstart companies continue to get a discounted ride on the local telephone network. The latter, however, means that competitors would have to build their own networks, a prohibitively expensive task that would effectively cede high-speed Internet competition to a duopoly of cable companies and telephone companies. Congress envisioned a gradual, regulated transition to local competition for telephone customers. But the real war and profits aren't in local telephone services. The real money is in high-speed Internet networks. We clearly understand that high-speed networks aren't cheap to build, and that the Baby Bells aren't pleased that rivals get a sharply discounted ride on part of their networks, and that cable companies remain free of the rules that the Baby Bells must follow. We also agree that it is unreasonable to expect a company to subsidize its competition indefinitely. We are concerned, however, that the FCC may be cutting life support before broadband takes hold, and is forfeiting a coherent national policy. ... LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -