Less than a week after a California senator introduced legislation that will prohibit the sale of ephedra products, nine state prosecutors filed a lawsuit against the maker of a dietary supplement containing the controversial herbal stimulant. Eight Northern California county district attorneys and the city attorney of San Diego filed the lawsuit Monday in Napa County Superior Court, accusing New Jersey-based Cytodyne Technologies Inc. of failing to disclose the link between its ephedra-containing dietary supplement Xenadrine and the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death.
The civil suit also accuses Cytodyne's corporate officer Robert Chinery of unfair business practices and alleges the company published misleading statements on the effectiveness of Xenadrine. Plaintiff attorneys claim Cytodyne's omissions violate California's fair business practice laws and are seeking civil penalties as well as the end of Cytodyne's "deceptive" advertising.
California Senator Jackie Speier introduced a law last week stating that the ban of ephedra was critical to protecting the health of the state's 34 million residents. If approved, California will become the first state in the nation to ban dietary supplements containing ephedra.
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