Dexatrim

Dexatrim is the brand name used for a number of commercial dietary supplements manufactured by Chattem, Inc., and sold as appetite suppressants and aids to weight loss. The products used in Dexatrim have changed over the years and at times have included phenylpropanolamine (PPA) and ephedra. Dexatrim, along with many other dietary supplements, was subject to recall in 2002 when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established that ephedra was associated with increased risk of stroke. No Dexatrim product sold today contains ephedra, according to the company website. It is more difficult to determine if any Dexatrim products contain PPA, because (again according to the company website) Chattem disputes that PPA has been established as dangerous, but also states that no Dexatrim products containing PPA will be advertised or shipped, at the request on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The contents of different Dexatrim products currently include common vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, E, calcium and zinc; herbs such as yohimbe bark and licorice root, and other ingredients such as caffeine and green tea leaf extract. Chattem claims that Dexatrim helps people lose weight in two ways: by acting as an appetite suppressant so people eat less, and by increasing the base metabolic rate so people burn calories faster. It is important to note that in the United States, the FDA does not evaluate the safety or effectiveness of products such as Dexatrim that are marketed as dietary supplements, except for products established as hazardous such as ephedra. Therefore, although the FDA may ban products such as ephedra which they feel have been established as dangerous, neither they nor the manufacturers are required to subject nutritional supplements to the type of testing required of prescription drugs, nor to establish the truth of claims regarding such products (for instance, that Dexatrim helps individuals lose weight). Although surveys have found Dexatrim to be a commonly used herbal weight loss product, no studies of the current formulation have established its efficacy.

Dexatrim is sold by Chattem, Inc., a company which produces or distributes many well-known over-the-counter (nonprescription) pharmaceutical and drugstore products, including ACT mouthwash, Cortisone-10 ointment, Flexall topical analgesis, [Page 183]Garlique dietary supplement, Gold Bond medicated powders, Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo, and Unisom sleep aids. Chattem began as a family business under the name of the Chattanooga Medicine Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1879, and pioneered direct-marketing and advertising techniques in the pharmaceutical business, in particular the use of outdoor advertising on barns and storefronts.