NFL Bans Dietary Supplement Ads, Ephedrine

The National Football League (NFL) and its players union have agreed to prohibit players from endorsing many dietary supplements. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the league did not want endorsements even though the products are sold over the counter. The NFL also expanded its doping ban to include supplements containing ephedrine and other high-risk stimulants. Testing and discipline violations will be decided after further discussions with specialists and with the NFL Players Association. The NFL stated it was banning the use or distribution of ephedrine alkaloids and ephedrine (also known as ma huang, Bishop’s Tea and Chi Powder), methylephedrine, norephedrine (also known as phenylpropanolamine), pseudo-ephe­drine or norpseudo-ephedrine.