James Guest and Marvin M. Lipman

The following viewpoint is excerpted from a letter from Consumers Union, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, to Tommy Thompson, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The authors, James Guest and Marvin M. Lipman, urge the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the use of ephedra, an herbal weight loss aid, in all dietary supplements. According to the authors, ephedra causes strokes, heart attacks, seizures, and other serious health complications. FDA regulation is necessary, the authors argue, because ephedra manufacturers routinely suppress reports of health problems by ephedra users. Guest is the president of Consumers Union, and Lipman is Consumers Union’s chief medical adviser.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Why do reported complaints about ephedra represent the tip of the iceberg, according to the...