Public Act 93-0008

SB1418 Enrolled                      LRB093 10881 MBS 11393 b

    AN ACT concerning public health.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
Ephedra Prohibition Act.

    Section 5.  Findings.  The  General  Assembly  finds  the
following:
         (1)  Over 3 billion servings of ephedra are consumed
    by Americans each year.
         (2)  Ephedra,  or ma huang, has been associated with
    a wide range of severe adverse events, including death.
         (3)  The  U.S.  Food  and  Drug  Administration  has
    received over 18,000  reports  of  adverse  reactions  by
    ephedra   users,   including   strokes,  seizures,  heart
    attacks, and deaths.
         (4)  The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of
    Health and Human Services noted in a  report  on  ephedra
    adverse  events  that  60%  of  those adverse events were
    experienced by people under the age of 40.
         (5)  A study reported  in  the  Annals  of  Internal
    Medicine  concluded  that,  compared  with  other  herbs,
    ephedra  is  associated with a greatly increased risk for
    adverse reactions and that the use of ephedra  should  be
    restricted.
         (6)  The   American   Medical  Association  and  the
    consumer  group,  Public  Citizen,  have  called  for   a
    nationwide ban on ephedra.
         (7)  The  National Collegiate Athletics Association,
    the  National  Football  League,  and  the  International
    Olympic Committee have all banned ephedra  use  by  their
    athletes  because  of  concerns  about the safety of this
    dietary supplement.
         (8)  The U.S. Army has banned the  sale  of  ephedra
    products  in  army  commissaries  worldwide after 33 army
    personnel died from consuming ephedra products.
         (9)  Canada, Britain, Germany,  and  Australia  have
    all taken steps to restrict the sale of ephedra products.

    Section  10.  Purpose.  The purpose of this Act is to ban
the sale of  all  dietary  supplements  containing  ephedrine
alkaloids  in  the State of Illinois regardless of the age of
the purchaser in order  to  protect  the  health  and  public
safety of Illinois residents.

    Section 15. Definitions:
    "Ephedra"  means  herbs  and herbal products that contain
ephedrine alkaloids, including  ma  huang,  Chinese  ephedra,
ephedra sinica, ephedra herb powder, epitonin, or any extract
of  those  substances,  but  does  not  include any drug that
contains ephedrine and  is  lawfully  sold,  transferred,  or
furnished  over  the  counter  with or without a prescription
pursuant to the federal Food,  Drug,  and  Cosmetic  Act  (21
U.S.C.  301  and following) or regulations adopted under that
Act.
    "Person"   means   any   natural   person,    individual,
corporation,   unincorporated   association,  proprietorship,
firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock association, or
any other business organization or entity.

    Section 20. Prohibition.
    (a)  No person may sell or offer  for  sale  any  dietary
supplement  containing  any  quantity of ephedra or ephedrine
alkaloids to any person located within the State  or  to  any
person making the purchase from within the State.
    (b)  The  prohibition  in  subsection (a) of this Section
does not apply to the  sale  of  any  product  that  receives
explicit  approval as safe and effective for its intended use
under the federal Food, Drug, and  Cosmetic  Act  (21  U.S.C.
355)  or  is  lawfully  marketed  under  an  over-the-counter
monograph issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Section 25. Penalties.
    (a) Any person who violates this Act is guilty of a Class
A misdemeanor.  The penalty is imprisonment for less than one
year  or  a  fine of not more than $5,000 or both for a first
offense.
    (b)  For a subsequent violation of this Act, a person  is
guilty  of  a Class 3 felony, and the penalty is imprisonment
for less than 5 years or a fine of not more than  $20,000  or
both.

    Section  99.  Effective  date. This Act shall take effect
upon becoming law.