University Daily Kansan, November 16 1982
Page 7
Drugs in diet aids stir controversy
By DONNA KELLER
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
The use of over-the-counter diet aids is a subject of controversy because of questions about the safety and effectiveness of their ingredients, a Food and Drug Administration official said yesterday.
Julia Hilley, of the FDA office in Kansas City, Mo., said most ingredients used in the drugs were neither safe nor effective, as determined by one of the 17 FDA advisory panels that began investigating over-the-counter drugs in 1972.
Phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, the drug used in most time-release capsules on the market, frequently in combination with caffeine, acts as a stimulant to relieve the fatigue that accompanies dieting, she said.
THE DRUG is also used in nasal decongestants and "look-a-like" street sale drugs, she said.
The FDA limits the dosage of phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride to 75 milligrams a day, which has been determined as a safe dose, she said.
The drug may be taken in a single
dose, or two or three doses during the day, but the user should not exceed the safety level, she said.
Hewley said that a final decision on whether the drug was safe for consumer use had not been reached, and that some experts thought people could benefit from it.
Hewley said the panel had also recommended that use of the diet aids would be limited.
One aspect of the controversy is whether to put the drug in a prescription class, Hewgley said.
SHE SAID the FDA changed a drug's class if it was determined that a consumer could not use the drug safely without a physician monitoring the
Dean Siegal, public relations director for Thompson Medical Company, New York, said diet aids were frequent targets of criticism.
The company first placed phenylpropanolamide hydrochloride on the market in 1839, when it was recognized as a diet suppressant, he said.
THE COMPANY manufactures and markets Appedine, Prolamine, Control and Dextrinum, all of which contain vanillin, with or without a caffeine additive.
"We feel very strongly about the product. It's a very useful adjunct to a diet program," he said.
He said there were three reasons people had problems with the drug.
The person either takes more than the recommended dosage, mixes it with other drugs or alcohol or has a rare reaction to the drug, he said.
Diet aid package warnings read that if nervousness, dizziness, sleeplessness, rapid pulse or heart palpitations occur, the user should discontinue use and consult a physician.
"OUR LABELS ARE above and beyond the FDA requirements," Stegal said. "We let the consumer decide about the product."
Also, individuals who have high blood pressure, heart, kidney or thyroid disease, pregnant women, nursing mothers and individuals under 18 should not use the weight control aid without the advice of a doctor.
Mike Nichols, pharmacist at Super-X Drugs, 101. W5. 23rd St., said numerous studies had been done on phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, but had not turned up enough evidence to dispute its safety.
"The primary objection is that it may cause a hypertensive crisis," Nichols said. "I don't know what the odds are. I have never ever recommended anyone take it."
Ben Bunag, professor of pharmacology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., said it was reasonable to expect a hypertensive crisis with a class of drugs related to amphotamines.
THE DRUGS ARE vasocontrictors, which constrict blood vessels and may block the flow of blood.
A hypertensive crisis is an acute attack of high blood pressure with the possible consequences of cerebral hemorrhage, which could cause unconsciousness, paralysis and death, Bunag said.
Gene Martin, KU professor of pharmacic principles and patient aids could provide a health risk.
He said that some people were sensitive to the drugs, and that there had been rare reports of unusual reactions, such as hallucinations.
But he said that if taken as directed, the drugs should not cause problems for others.
Commission to consider new taxi service
ny DOUG CUNNINGHAM Staff Reporter
The Lawrence City Commission will consider at its meeting tonight a request for a taxi cab license by Lon Fajer, owner of Jayhawk Towing.
City code requires an operator of a taxicab or public service to first get a map from the office.
According to the code, the City Commission should consider the existing systems of transportation and whether the "public convenience and
necessity require the operation of additional taxicab service."
FALER SAID Sunday he thought the city needed another taxicab service.
Yellow Cab Company of Lawrence now operates a local taxicab service. FALER SAID Sunday he thought the
He said his service, if the commission grants him a license, would dispatch taxis by two-way radio from 1545 N. Third St.
The service, to be called Jawhakw-Dial-A-Ride, will charge a flat fee of $3 for each one-way ride within the city and will operate 24 hours a day, he said.
In a letter to the City Commission, Faler said he would require his drivers to be well-groomed and wear a white shirt, tie and dress slacks.
January with two or three taxicabs but might expand later.
The commission also is scheduled to consider a letter from Tim Miller, 936 Ohio St., about the city's procedure for parking on city streets for more than 48 hours.
MILLER, A KU lecturer in religious studies, wrote that the 48-hour time limit was particularly a problem in the case of a student who had to lie to unnecessary driving because
Faler said his service could be in operation by late December or early
But a report prepared by Ron Olon, assistant chief of Lawrence police, said "most occasions in which the 48-hour parking limit is enforced are the result disregard for the ordinance or specific complaints by neighborhood residents."
people moved their cars to avoid exceeding the time limit.
The report also said the time limit was really 96 hours, because police officers wait 48 hours after marking a car before ticketing it and then wait another 48 hours before ticketing the car a second time and removing it.
Commission discusses housing code changes
By DOUG CUNNINGHAM Staff Reporter
The Lawrence City Commission yesterday discussed at a study session possible changes in the city's minimum structures code, which sets standards for housing in Lawrence.
Discussion of the minimum structures code came about because of discrepancies between it and the city's uniform housing code.
Both codes regulate Lawrence housing
"In general, the minimum structures code is much more lenient than the uniform housing code." Structures inspector, minimum structures inspector.
SOME OF THE changes the commission is considering include an increase in the minimum required ceiling heights, an increase in the minimum required number of electrical outlets, the use of only refrigerators and heating units in bathrooms and several deletions from the present code.
August Dettahn, coordinator of housing rehabilitation for the Lawrence Housing Authority, said he was concerned that an increase in standards in the structures code would cause the housing authority problems with its outstanding contracts.
With the grace period the housing authority's contracts will expire before the changes go into effect, he said.
City Manager Buford Watson said that the proposed changes, which would be retroactive, were controversial because many people would
HE ASKED THAT the commission allow a grace period if the changes were adopted.
not want to bring their homes up to the minimum code requirements.
The commission will discuss the possible changes again in several weeks.
wcbs Commissioners also discussed the possible extension of Michigan Street near Ninth Street.
The commission received a report that said costs for the street extension might be higher than anticipated.
SEVERAL PROPERTY owners in the area have said they would protest the extension of Michigan Street because they would be assessed a portion of the costs to pay for it.
City Commissioner Don Binnis said the city staff had said that Arkansas Street could handle traffic and was a safe road. Therefore no extension was needed.
He said the commission should follow the recommendation of the staff
However, Mayor Marci Franco-
disagreeing with Binns, said she was not ignoring the comments from her staff. She wanted to do things in a different way.
The commission also discussed installing sidewalks on the west side of Kasold Drive.
A number of property owners in the Kasold Drive area have appeared before the commission in order to ensure the city pay for installing sidewalks.
THE COMMISSION discussed the sidewalks yesterday and appeared to agree that if 50 percent of the property owners in the area sign a petition asking for sidewalks to be installed in the area, then the city would pay 50 percent of the cost of installing the sidewalks.
The property owners would be assessed to pay for the other 50 percent.
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First person showing an actual case in the New Testament (K.J.V.) where anyone was baptized in the titles "Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
Come hear an exiting lecture by author William Chaffant (Class 71).
3. Would the social gospel and religious innovations of modern churchianity win the approval of the Jewish Apostles?
4. Is a cult a "cult" because it denies the "trinity," or because it does not teach the true divinity of Jesus Christ? What do denominations teach about His divinity?
1. Is the historical church that we associate with modern denominations the true Church?
2. Why are religious practices and teachings today so different from those of the Apostles?
Hear these questions and others considered each Tuesday evening, 7:30 p.m., at the Kansas Union. We want to challenge you to think with an open mind as you would in matters secular. Faith is not blind. Jesus is the truth.
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 7:30 Kansas Union THE SALT BLOCK Pre-denominational Non-Charismatic
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