Policy Concentrates CONSUMER SAFETY
Unintended dietary supplement exposure on the rise More education and regulation are needed, data analysis suggests exposures over the 13-year period had relMore than 70% of Americans take some atively benign effects, 4.5% of the reported form of dietary supplement. Yet these inexposures resulted in serious medical outcreasingly popular products typically don’t comes. These adverse effects were linked undergo U.S. Food & Drug Administration to a few main categories of supplements: safety testing or approval before hitting the energy products, cultural medicines such market, a lax situation that may merit reas Ayurvedic treatments, and botanicals evaluation, says a recent study (J. Med. Toxsuch as ephedra, which was once marketed icol. 2017, DOI: 10.1007/s13181-017-0623-7). for weight loss, heightened alertness, and In the study, researchers evaluated data improved athletic performance. collected from 2000 to 2012, finding that Calls to poison control calls to U.S. poison control centers reporting expocenters reporting dietary sures to ephedra-consupplement exposures taining products peaked doubled during the period, in 2002, then declined to total about 275,000 as reports of increased calls. The majority of blood pressure, myocardithose exposures occurred al infarction, stroke, and in children younger than ▸ 100%: the rise in dietary even death came to light. age six. Often, parents don’t think of supplesupplement exposures reported FDA subsequently banned ephedra in 2004, resulting ments as dangerous and to poison control centers in a drop-off of epheleave them within reach between 2000 and 2012 ▸ 70%: the percentage of dra-related exposures. of curious children, says Spiller says the ephedra Henry Spiller, director of those exposed during the ban had a clear, positive period who were under age six the Central Ohio Poison ▸ 4.5%: the percentage of effect, and he advocates Center and coauthor of for the regulation of other exposures during the period the new study. But when that resulted in serious medical problematic supplements. it comes to safety, parents For instance, he points to outcomes should treat them like any the sexual enhancement other medicine, he says. Source: J. Med. Toxicol. 2017, DOI: product Yohimbe, which Although most of the 10.1007/s13181-017-0623-7
C R E D I T: B R I TT E R I C KS O N /C& E N
Dietary supplement exposure by the numbers
has been associated with serious side effects, including abnormal heart rate, kidney failure, heart attack, and seizure, and to energy products, which have also been linked to abnormal heart rate and seizure. Martin Ronis, a professor of pharmacology at Louisiana State University Health
Overexposed
Calls to poison control about dietary supplements doubled over 13-year period. Rate per 100,000 U.S. residents 10 FDA bans ephedra-containing products 8 6 Public reacts to adverse effects linked to ephedra 4 2 0 2000 02 04 06 08 10 12
Source: J. Med. Toxicol. 2017, DOI: 10.1007/s13181017-0623-7
Sciences Center New Orleans who recently wrote a review on the adverse effects of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, says the study provides a “snapshot” of the effect of supplements on human health and reveals the major culprits. “Not everything you take that’s over the counter is necessarily good for you,” he says. FDA is encouraging consumers to report any adverse reactions or safety concerns about dietary supplements to the agency’s Safety Reporting Portal.—TIEN NGUYEN
PESTICIDES
U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to ban chlorpyrifos Environmental activists and farmworkers joined Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) in Washington, D.C., on July 25 to drum up support for legislation (S. 1624) that would ban use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops. The organophosphate is neurotoxic and linked to developmental problems in children. Under the Obama Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed to ban chlorpyrifos on food, but Trump EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt put off finalizing that decision until 2022.
“Congress must act because Administrator Pruitt has shown that he won’t. There is no question chlorpyrifos needs to come off the market. The science linking chlorpyrifos to brain damage and neurodevelopmental disorders in children is undeniable,” said Udall, who introduced S. 1624. The bill has support of several Democrats in the Senate. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) introduced a similar measure (H.R. 3380) in the House of Representatives.—BRITT ERICKSON JULY 31, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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