A local woman has come forward to warn others about her nightmare with an herbal supplement readily available in Bermuda which adversaries elsewhere are fighting to ban. The 31-year-old woman, who does not wish to be named, said she had to be rushed to the hospital from work after using a popular diet aid and energy booster sold over the counter here.

And The Royal Gazette has learned that the product continues to sell in droves from local gyms, sports shops and health stores as it is not regulated by officials in Bermuda.

The woman said she purchased Xenadrine RFA-1, which contains the Chinese herb ephedra (also known as Ma Huang), from Down to Earth on Reid Street because she wanted to lose a little weight. She said she followed the instructions on the bottle which advised she increase the dosage after several days but then experienced heart complications while on the job.

"They were trying to tell me to sit down but I couldn't keep still. I had to keep moving and then my heartbeat starting going faster and people were coming around me," she said of her ordeal. Her co-worker, who was one of a number of people who rushed to the woman's rescue, said it was a very frightening experience. "She kept saying `I can't breathe' and that her chest was hurting. She looked as if she was going to have a heart attack," she said.

The woman said she learned afterward that her sister had also taken Xenadrine RFA-1 after purchasing it from a local gym but had stopped when she felt that she would have a heart attack. And another of her co-workers said she had stopped taking the diet aid after a week because she began to shake and experience a faster heart beat from the first day. When the woman arrived at the hospital she said the nurse said: "`Welcome to the World of drugs'. They just said it's (ephedra) banned in Canada and the US because it's not good for you because it causes your heart rate to increase and people have been known to die from it," the woman said.

But it was not until one week later when a relative showed her an article in an American magazine that she understood exactly how fortunate she had been.

Ephedra has come under fire in the US as the alleged culprit for thousands of deaths, strokes, heart attacks, and seizures.

Popular among people trying to lose weight and fitness buffs, ephedra is an active ingredient in over 200 diet aids and energy enhancers.

Products containing it can be purchased in liquid, powder or pill form and contain caffeine and other chemicals to increase effectiveness. They speed the heart and reduce appetite and have been likened to legalised speed. Xenadrine-RFA-1, Ultimate Orange, Metabolife, Ripped Fuel, Thermoblast and Hydroxycut are just some of the well-known products that contain it.

Last year ephedra was linked to the deaths of four professional American football players which prompted the NFL to ban its use while it had already been banned by the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Seven states have also issued warnings about the supplement.

In addition, the Canadian Government has warned its citizens against using it after minors were using it to get "high".

However, while plans for change are underway, like all herbal supplements ephedra is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which means that the herbal supplement manufacturers are not obligated to test their products or report problems related to their use. Similarly, the Bermuda Pharmacy Act which regulates the sale of prescription and over-the-counter drugs on the Island does not include the regulation of herbal supplements.

However, Government Pharmacist Sareta Trott said that because of increased use of products containing herbs, when the Bermuda Pharmacy Council revises the Pharmacy Act it hopes to include measures about herbal supplements. "Really there are no regulations to protect the public right now. We are revising the Act and hope to put tighter guidelines on who can actually sell these and what can actually come onto the Island."

In the meantime Mrs. Trott said efforts are underway to put advertisements in newspapers and to distribute flyers to warn people of the possible dangers of using herbal drugs.

"We want to let people know that all herbs are not good especially for people with problems," she said.

Mrs. Trott also said that the Pharmacy Council has discussed plans for pharmacists to liase with health store retailers to have better working arrangements between the two groups.

When contacted for comment on the woman's experience, Down to Earth owner Antoinette Daniels said first time buyers of products containing herbal supplements are given the standard information about the cautions clearly labelled on the products.

Pregnant women cannot take the products and people with heart, thyroid, liver and a slew of other problems should first consult a physician. The labels, while instructing consumers to take as many as six tablets in a day on some products, also note that exceeding the recommended serving can cause heart attack or stroke.

When customers do not seek assistance before making a purchase, Ms Daniels said all bottles are clearly marked with the rather extensive cautions.

"I still maintain that people are responsible for their own health," she said.

However, she said she was aware of the problems that have arisen in other countries surrounding the drug's use and subsequent bans but maintained that the product is legal in Bermuda.