Also, the nation's leading public health officials issued strong statements that warn the public about the use of products containing ephedra, especially under conditions of prolonged or strenuous exercise and in combination with other stimulants, including caffeine. "We want to warn all Americans - and in particular athletes and others who are engaged in strenuous activities - about using dietary supplements that contain ephedra," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson. "There are serious questions about the risks surrounding ephedra." "FDA will do everything it can to protect Americans from this potentially dangerous dietary supplements," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. "We are  concerned about the risks of using products containing ephedra during heavy or prolonged workouts, with caffeine and other stimulants, in a diet program that emphasizes the cardiovascular system, or by people less than Eighteen years of age.

Click here to read the rest of this article 

The toxicology report on Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler released today implicates the use of the herbal supplement ephedra in his death, and underscores once more the dangers of ephedra use, particularly when combined with other risk factors.

An athletic boost in the short term may mean health problems in the long term for teens who use performance-enhancing drugs, warns a youth sports medicine specialist from the University of Michigan Health System.

Although they may build muscle, steroids can produce very serious side effects in both males and females. Using steroids for a long period of time can negatively affect the reproductive systems.

Many physicians feel that some dietary supplements' should be considered drugs' because they contain known active ingredients, whereas dietary supplements' have little or no physiologic effects.

Wadler, who is attending the ACSM Annual Meeting in St. Louis this week, said that the subject of steroid use in baseball peaked in 1998, when Mark McGwire admitted to the use of the testosterone precursor, androstenedione.