Former L.A. Laker Lamar Odom has been one of the hottest headline topics today. He was found unconscious and obviously drugged last Tuesday in a bawdy house. Investigation showed that the 35-year-old professional basketball player had consumed copious amount of cocaine and 10 pills of 'herbal Viagra', a "natural" sexual enhancement product. He has been in a state of comatose since then.
Questions arose about whether this kind of drugs is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or not.
The FDA has already made it clear in the past that using this kind of sexual enhancement product (though natural) is still risky. In point of fact, the "herbal Viagra" that was the reason of Odom's state of comatose contains hidden ingredients such as sildenafil-which according to FDA may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.
The Agency has already warned drug users long ago that adulterated pills and sexual stimulator capsules and tablets are on top of the list of most dangerous products. A lot of men are actually at risk, now that the "natural Viagra" sales are exploding, with the market of around $400 million.
Dr. Rick Kingston, President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for SafetyCall (a company associated with the University of Minnesota that monitors the safety of drugs and herbal supplements of companies), explains that herbal supplements are definitely regulated. However, these herbal supplements are regulated differently than drugs.
In a common set-up, with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, FDA approves the product before it is released in the market. On the other hand, dietary supplements do not undergo this pre-market assessment, unless it includes new vitamins, herbs, or substances that have not yet been approved. The responsibility to ensure that the product is safe lies on the dietary supplement's manufacturer as it cannot actually make claims that the supplements can treat, cure or prevent any diseases.
