Oregon daily emerald., October 17, 2002, Page 5, Image 5

Yellow Jacket marketing
declared illegal by FDA
The non prescription dietary
supplements maybe pulled
from stores nationwide
Jillian Daley
Family/Health/Education Reporter
They don’t have stingers, but
they might make someone’s heart
beat faster.
Yellow Jacket pills are nonpre
seription dietary supplements with
ingredients that include ephedra, a
stimulant similar to the herb Ma
huang, which was used in traditional
Chinese medicine.
But Yellow Jackets may soon
be pulled from stores in Eugene
and nationwide.
The Food and Drug Administra
tion Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research said in a statement that
they are cracking down on the prod
uct because of reasons including the
questionable marketing campaign
for the product.
“The Yellow Jacket has an
extremely stimulating rush, with
sensations one would attribute to E
or amphetamines,” the company,
called “De Sjamaan” or The Shaman,
said in a description on its Web site.
The FDA also said that dietary sup
plements should not include ephedra.
Kris Donald, who works at Ever
green Nutritional Supply, compared
ephedra’s effect on the human cardio
vascular and nervous system to drink
ing a pot of coffee every hour, all day.
She added that the drug exhausts the
parts of the body that are stimulated.
“Eventually, if you drink a pot of
coffee on the hour every day, you’re
gding to be exhausted, but you won’t
be able to sleep,” Donald said.
She said ephedra, while used in
certain Chinese teas, is a concern
when taken in high dosages.
“They were using minute quantities
in tea form,” she said. “It’s meant to be
used to open the air waves.”
Donald said ephedra should not be
used for energy or dietary needs.
Some say the pill has its benefits.
University student Nick Ngai said
his fraternity friends — who he did
not want to identify — have taken
Vbllmu Tar»bol-c
“It’s a stimulant,” he said. “It lets
you party all night.” However, there
may be costs for the benefits it gives.
Reported ephedra side effects in
clude the possibility of heart attacks,
chest pains, seizures, strokes, blood
pressure fluctuations, headaches and
dizziness.
Most stores are clearing Yellow
Jacket pills off the shelves because of
the FDA’s warning issued for the
company’s marketing.
However, many campus area stores
carry the product, including the Alder
Street 7-Eleven. Local stores would
not comment on the drug.
In an Oct. 4 letter from FDA
spokesman David J. Horowitz to Xoch
Linnebank, who heads the Nether
lands-based company, Horowitz said
the product has not been given FDA
approval. Linnebank could not be
reached for comment.
On the package of the product,
there is a warning stating that it is not
regulated by the FDA.
The FDA also told the company
that its content on the Internet is
not acceptable.
“The information on your Web site
indicates that the product is intend
ed to be used as an alternative to
street drugs,” Horowitz wrote.
Horowitz said the FDA intended
to inform U.S. Customs about Yel
low Jacket, which may cause the
product shipments to be detained
or refused entry into the country.
Contact the reporter
atjilliandaley@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Emerald
Yellow Jackets, which are not FDA approved, contain the stimulant ephedra
(Pind your
rhythm.)
877 1/2 Ease !3ch sc (541) 344.2263
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onune >* on the pnone » on caitipu/ » on the /treet
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