The By-Laws
of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), as revised
in January, 1998, define "Obligations of Membership" to include
"adherence to all policies and business practices as outlined
in the Code of Ethics." The Code of Ethics, as amended in February,
1997, establishes a procedure whereby "The Board of Trustees
may issue a trade recommendation which becomes an amendment
to the Code." Any recommendation of the Board is thus automatically
considered as a revision to the Code, requiring compliance from
all members in good standing. The current recommendation for
Ephedra is listed here.
AHPA recommends
the following criteria for marketing of dietary supplement products
containing ephedrine alkaloids:
Labeling
i. The label
of the goods should bear an adequate cautionary statement, which
shall at a minimum include the following language, or comparable
language:
Warning:
Not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. Do not
use this product if you are pregnant or nursing. Consult a
health care professional before using this product if you
have heart disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure, depression or other psychiatric condition, glaucoma,
difficulty in urinating, prostate enlargement, or seizure
disorder, if you are using a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
or any other prescription drug, or you are using an over-the-counter
drug containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine
(ingredients found in certain allergy, asthma, cough/cold
and weight control products).
Exceeding
recommended serving will not improve results and may cause
serious adverse health effects.
Discontinue
use and call a health care professional immediately if you
experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, severe headache, shortness
of breath, or other similar symptoms.
ii. The
product label shall list the amount of ephedrine alkaloids and
caffeine alkaloids, if present, per serving.
Serving
Limits
Products
are not to contain in excess of 25mg of total ephedrine alkaloids
per serving; usage instructions should limit daily consumption
to 100mg of total ephedrine alkaloids.
Herbs
of Commerce Conformity
Label identification
must be in conformity with the standard common name listed in
Herbs of Commerce.
Synthetic
Ingredients
Neither
finished consumer goods nor raw materials used in their manufacture
are to contain any synthetically derived ephedrine alkaloids
or their salts (e.g., ephedrine sulfate; pseudoephedrine hydrochloride;
phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride).
Marketing
No claims
shall be made that the product may be useful to achieve an altered
state of consciousness, euphoria, or as a "legal" alternative
for an illicit drug.
