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.