Ephedrine is a drug used in many products sold for weight loss and as treatments for allergies.
According to the FDA, the stimulant can produce many serious side effects, including anxiety, irregular heartbeat, seizure, heart attack, and stroke. Since 1994, the FDA has received over 800 reports of such effects. In addition, the FDA is looking at reports that ephedrine has caused several deaths. Ephedrine products must be labeled with a warning against using more than 24 mg of the drug in a single day, or for more than seven consecutive days. Ephedra is not currently regulated by the FDA because it is a dietary supplement protected under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.