Ephedra - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

The Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News estimated that 12 million Americans used ephedra products at the height of their popularity. Ephedra sales fell from $1.3 billion in 2002 to $510 million in 2003, according to the New York Times.

Before the ban on ephedra and ephedrine alkaloid supplements, manufacturers claimed that the products enhanced athletic performance and helped build lean muscle mass. That made ephedra supplements especially appealing to both male and female athletes. Frank Uryasz of the NCAA told Houston Chronicle reporter Janny Hu that young athletes run the greatest risk of suffering ephedra-related problems. "The age group we work with thinks they're going to live forever…. When we educate athletes about banned drugs, we say, 'Stimulant, plus exercise, plus heat and humidity, equals death."'

Government studies reveal that most drug use, including ephedrine use, begins in high school. In fact, 62 percent of student athletes in a 2001 NCAA survey reported that they had started using nutritional supplements in high school.