Mauro on Metabolife

In the wake of the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, linked to use of the natural stimulant ephedra, bad national PR has brought the Metabolife International story back into Texas headlines. Metabolife has spent generously on state and national politicians of both parties -- most prominently Gov. Gray Davis of California, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Hatch and Harkin co-sponsored 1994 legislation exempting "nutritional supplements" containing ephedra from regulation as drugs, meaning the Food and Drug Administration must prove each supplement is "unsafe" before it can be removed from the market. Davis vetoed state legislation that would have strengthened regulation of "supplements" like top-seller Metabolife 356.

Former Texas land commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Garry Mauro is an attorney for Metabolife International, although he told Naked City he has represented the company only in Washington, D.C., not in Texas. "They hired me to help build relationships with Democrats and to work toward regulation," Mauro said. Despite Metabolife's Texas history of strenuously lobbying against stricter labeling requirements, Mauro said the company welcomes recent federal moves toward stronger regulation of supplements. "We're for regulation," said Mauro. "Metabolife has 40% of the ephedra market, and it's a quality product, but there are lots of bad actors out there. We want aggressive regulation: strong warning labels, no sale to minors, no marketing in competitive athletics or as an athletic enhancement. And we welcome regulation to monitor the content of the products."

Concerning reports of adverse reactions to ephedra, Mauro said, "There are 30,000 annual adverse-reaction reports to aspirin, 17,000 to 18,000 to Tylenol." Mauro says the company simply wants "freedom of choice. Public Citizen [which has called for a ban on ephedra-based supplements] and some of these other folks want to decide what's good for me. I want to decide what's good for me."