NFL Adds Ephedrine Test

The NFL will begin testing players July 1 for the banned stimulant ephedrine, a substance used in many dietary supplements and found to cause heart attacks and strokes.

Implementation of the testing program was ordered after an agreement was reached with the NFL Players Assn., which approved the league’s ban on ephedrine last September but sought further consultation with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on testing procedures.

A player testing positive for ephedrine, or any of several other “high-risk” stimulants, will be subject to a four-game suspension. Testing will be conducted year round, at random, under terms of the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.

“We’re in the process of informing the players,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

Repeat positive tests will result in more severe disciplinary action as determined by the commissioner, Aiello added.

The NFL is the first professional sports league to test for ephedrine, which acts like an amphetamine and is typically used by players seeking to lose weight or get a quick burst of energy.

Ephedrine is also commonly used in drugs to treat asthma, colds, allergies, fevers, and body and joint pain. NFL players taking medications containing ephedrine will have to consult team doctors to avoid testing positive.

“Players will have to be mindful of what they are taking,” said Doug Allen, assistant executive director of the players’ union. “Players with those kinds of problems need to have medication prescribed by team physicians at the appropriate levels.”

There will be postings in every locker room, informing players that testing will begin July 1 for ephedrine, methylephedrine, pseudoephedrine, fenfluramine, norfenfluramine and phentermine. All are considered high-risk stimulants by the NFL.

That memo reads in part: “As you recall, last season the NFL and NFL Players Assn. agreed to ban the use of certain stimulants, including ephedrine. Products containing these stimulants are often promoted for weight loss or increased energy; however, there is growing evidence linking these products to several life-threatening conditions such as strokes, seizures, thermo-regulatory disorders and heart arrhythmia.”

Ephedrine’s herbal form, called ma huang or ephedra, is an ingredient in about 200 supplements used for weight loss, building muscle or boosting energy.

NFL officials are concerned that some players, in an effort to lose weight quicker, are taking larger-than-recommended doses of ephedrine-related products.

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the players’ union, said recently that the death of Minnesota Viking offensive lineman Korey Stringer last summer prompted the NFL to “take a hard, hard look” at stimulants. An autopsy revealed no trace of ephedrine in Stringer’s blood and his death was ruled heat-related, but it is widely believed that many NFL players use supplements containing ephedrine and other stimulants.

Products containing ephedrine have been linked to 81 deaths from January 1993 to February 2000, according to published reports. During that time, nearly 1,400 adverse effects associated with the use of ephedrine were reported to the Food and Drug Administration. These include heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmia, increased blood pressure, strokes and seizures.

“It’s the Wild West out there with regard to supplements and their labels,” Allen said. “Many times, you can’t be sure what you’re taking.”

The supplement industry has gone largely unregulated since the passage in 1994 of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which exempted supplements from scrutiny by reclassifying them as foods. Attempts by the FDA to have supplements treated as drugs, which are subject to costly testing before they can be sold on the market, have been quashed by the powerful supplement industry with the support of legislative lobbyists.

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Associated Press contributed to this report.