Since the early 1990s and until the ban took effect in April 2004, ephedra-containing products had been marketed as weight loss aids and athletic performance enhancers. These products often included other ingredients, including caffeine and aspirin. Adding caffeine and aspirin to ephedrine potentiates ephedrine's thermogenic effects.

According to a survey taken by manufacturers of ephedra-containing products in the year 2000, it was estimated that 3 billion servings of these products were consumed by 12 million individuals in 1999. Also, at the meeting at which this survey's results were presented, an industry spokesman stated that the above figure represented at 65% increase in sales over the previous 5 years.

Ephedra is considered by the FDA as a dietary supplement. Thus, it was regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which does not require dietary supplement manufacturers to provide evidence of product safety and efficacy prior to marketing their products. Once a supplement is marketed, the responsibility of the U.S. government under this act is to prove that the product is not safe if restrictions or bans of the product are to be imposed ("postmarket evaluation"). This is in contrast to a drug product, which requires drug manufacturers to provide evidence to the FDA that the drug is safe and effective prior to marketing it ("premarket evaluation"). However, eight years after the FDA began receiving reports of the herb's dangers, the FDA put into effect the first-ever ban of a dietary supplement  which took effect on April 12th, 2004.

Examples of ephedra/ephedrine-containing products that are no longer allowed to be sold:

Metabolife

Ripped Fuel

Xendadrine

Stacker 3

Up Your Gas

Metab-O-Lite

Different names used for ephedra under "Label Ingredients":

Ephedra, Ma huang, Ephedrine, Ephedra sinica, Sida cordifolia, Epitonin, Pseudoephedrine, Methyl ephedrine