December 30, 2003. Consumer Alert
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers of upcoming regulatory action that will ban the widely marketed botanical, ephedra, and dietary supplements containing ephedra (the principal active ingredient of which is ephedrine).  [ more info ]

December 23, 2003. Kava advisory
      Health Canada has issued an advisory reminding consumers about the potential health risks associated with the use of herbal supplements containing kava.  [ more info ]

December 12, 2003. Comfrey advisory
      Health Canada has issued an advisory reminding consumers about the potential health risks associated with the use of herbal supplements containing comfrey.  [ more info ]

December 9, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against three marketers of widely advertised weight-loss products, for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their products.  [ more info ]

December 3, 2003. Hormone Replacement Therapy
      The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (U.K.) has made the following announcement:
      Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is no longer recommended as first choice of therapy for prevention of osteoporosis.This follows a European-wide review of the balance of risks and benefits of HRT in response to growing concerns about the safety of HRT in long-term use.  [ Press Release ]

October 24, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action to terminate the operations of the distributor of "Body Solutions," for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of this weight-loss product.  [ more info ]

October 8, 2003. FDA Action
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken action against Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals and others for making unsubstantiated claims about their product's effectiveness for treating obesity and other health conditions.  [ more info ]

October 3, 2003. Fufang luhuijiaonang
      The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (U.K.) has made the following announcement:
      "A product known as Fufang luhuijiaonang, supplied by a traditional Chinese medicine outlet in Surrey [England], has reportedly tested positive for the presence of mercury. The Agency is looking into this report.
      "Other products which could contain mercury may be referred to as Shugan Wan which is listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as traditionally containing Cinnabaris, or mercuric sulphide. Other words which may indicate the presence of the toxic heavy metal or its salts include Calomela (mercurous chloride) and Hydrargyri Oxydum Rubrum (red mercuric oxide)."

October 3, 2003. Korean Ginseng
      The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (U.K.) has made the following announcement:
      "The MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency] is aware of the study published in "Human Reproduction" which suggests that ginsenosides (the substances believed to be the major active ingredient of ginseng) to have effects on normal embryonic development in rats. The MHRA is reviewing the study and will update this page in light of its findings. In the mean time, women are advised to avoid taking ginseng during pregnancy or lactation.
      "This advice does not apply to Siberian ginseng or Eleutheroccus senticosus, which is unrelated to Panax [Korean] ginseng and contains different chemical constituents."

September 26, 2003. Cranberry
      The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (U.K.) has made the following announcement:
      "The Committee on Safety of Medicines has issued advice to health professionals of the possibility of interaction between warfarin and cranberry juice. This advice may also be relevant to cranberry juice extract tablets and can be seen here. The advice concludes that until the possible interaction between cranberry juice has been investigated further it would be prudent for patients taking warfarin to limit or avoid drinking cranberry juice."

September 18, 2003. FDA Action
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered the seizure of dietary supplement products, Forticel and Forticel Mix, for making unsubstantiated claims about their effectiveness for treating various health conditions.  [ more info ]

September 2, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has one again challenged the dietary supplement distributor, Raw Health, for making false and deceptive claims about the effectiveness of their products E3 Essential Algae and Parasine2.  [ more info ]

August 8, 2003. HRT study
      The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) [U.K.] reports that a large research project, the "Million Women Study," provides important new information on the risk of breast cancer in association with using hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and its expert working group on HRT has considered these new facts and has released the following:   [  Letter to healthcare professionals,  Information sheet for women,  Latest safety update on HRT,  Press release all PDF format ]

July 1, 2003. Ephedra supplements
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has challenged several distributors of various ephedra-based weight loss supplements for making false and deceptive claims about the effectiveness of their products.  [ more info ]

June 25, 2003. Pan Pharmaceuticals advisory
      Health Canada has issued an advisory to consumers concerning potential health risks associated with the use of dietary supplements distributed by Pan Pharmaceuticals.  [ more info ]

June 24, 2003. Viga recall
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released an advisory prepared by RMA Laboratories, Inc., concerning the potential of serious health effects associated with the use of the dietary supplement Viga.   [ more info ]

June 19, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has challenged the distributors of the dietary supplement Seasilver, for making false and deceptive claims about the effectiveness of their product.  [ more info ]

June 12, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has challenged the distributors of the dietary supplement HeartBar, for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their product.  [ more info ]

June 10, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against the distributors of the widely advertised dietary supplements Coral Calcium Supreme and Biotape, for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their products.  [ more info ]

June 9, 2003. Ephedra / Ephedrine warning
      Health Canada has issued a reminder concerning the potential health dangers associated with the use of dietary supplements containing Ephedra (ephedrine).  [ more info ]

June 6, 2003. Empowerplus warning
      Health Canada has issued a warning concerning the product Empowerplus, a pharmaceutical agent that should not be used without medical supervision.  [ more info ]

May 27, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against the distributors of widely advertised dietary supplements marketed under the Gero Vita and Theraceuticals brand names, for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their products.  [ more info ]

May 27, 2003. Hua Fo Vigor-Max warning
      Health Canada has issued a new warning concerning the herbal product Hua Fo Vigor-Max, as this herbal remedy has been shown to contain a substance similar to a prescription drug that should not be used without medical supervision.  [ more info ]   [ previous warning ]

May 23, 2003. Viga advisory
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MedWatch Program has released an advisory prepared by Best Life International, Inc., concerning the potential of serious health effects associated with the use of the dietary supplement Viga.   [ more info ]

May 15, 2003. Coral calcium advisory
      The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has requested that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigate unsubstantiated health claims being made for certain dietary supplement products containing coral calcium.   [ more info in PDF format ]

April 4, 2003. Vinarol advisory
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MedWatch Program has released an advisory prepared by Ultra Health Laboratories, Inc., concerning the potential of serious health effects associated with the use of the dietary supplement Vinarol.   [ more info ]

February 28, 2003. Ephedra advisory update
      The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services has issued an update to its June 14, 2002 advisory concerning the potential of serious health effects associated with the use of the herbal supplement ephedra, and its derivative ephedrine alkaloids.   [ more info ]

February 13, 2003. FDA Action
      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered the seizure of dietary supplement products, Vitamin Hut and RX for Health, for making unsubstantiated claims about their effectiveness for treating various health conditions.  [ more info ]

January 24, 2003. FTC Action
      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against the distributors of the widely advertised weight-loss supplement, Slim Down Solution, for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of the product.  [ more info ]