Press Releases

For Immediate Release

eBay Bans Book "Why Is America So FAT?"
Louisville, September 9, 2004--The controversial new book "Why Is America So FAT?" which criticizes the pharmaceutical industry for causing the obesity epidemic has been banned by online auction company eBay.com. Auctions listed for the book by Internet retailer InterNutrition.com were repeatedly cancelled by eBay with the only explanation being that the auctions violated eBay's guidelines. Despite three separate auction listing attempts along with several emails sent to eBay explaining that the item for sale was only a book, eBay responded by suspending the auction account used to list the book which effectively bans sales of the book on eBay.

Further attempts were made to get an explanation from eBay as to how the material covered in "Why Is America So FAT?" could possible violate their guidelines but eBay's only response so far has been that the "account has been suspended for engaging in activity expressly prohibited on eBay's site." With eBay advertising themselves to American consumers as a safe community for online sales the question begs as to exactly what kind of community they really envision since they obviously do not allow freedom of speech.

While eBay has drawn criticism for banning other items from their site this is the first time they have gone so far as to ban a book which draws a scary comparison to the infamous Nazi book burnings. One can only guess about the true motivation behind the ban of "Why Is America So FAT?" but considering that it was only few weeks ago that eBay also banned a napkin used to wipe the sweat from U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes brow the best guess is that eBay does not like some of the politically charged material in "Why Is America So FAT?"

The book "Why Is America So FAT?" was released in April of 2004 and is critical of the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA for causing the obesity epidemic and lists many prescription drugs that cause weight gain. The author of the book, Ben Kennedy, has been featured on many national radio shows and the book has been heralded as a "revealing account of how the pharmaceutical industry places their profits before the health of people." Despite the ban by eBay, "Why Is America So FAT?" is available at other prominent online retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.

Contact
Ben Kennedy
502-515-1087
[email protected]


Not all Ephedra products banned by FDA-Is politics the reason?
Louisville, April 27, 2004--On April 12, 2004, all Ephedra products were banned by the FDA. Or were they? According to the FDA, Ephedra presents an unreasonable risk of illness or injury however the exact same ingredient is found in many common over-the-counter cold, flu and asthma medications readily available at drug and grocery stores. According to author Ben Kennedy the exclusion of such products by the FDA is proof that the Ephedra ban was political and has nothing to do with the safety of Ephedra.

In his recently released book "Why is America So Fat?" Mr. Kennedy explains why only some Ephedra products were banned while others remain on the market in spite of the supposed ban. The evidence as presented by Mr. Kennedy is simple to understand and compelling. Mr. Kennedy shows examples of the products banned by the FDA as well as examples of those that remain on the market. He shows how the label listing of Ephedra is identical in both banned and non-banned products. The only explanation, according to Mr. Kennedy, is that the FDA was politically influenced by the manufactures of the protected products to eliminate their competitor's products.

With obesity a major problem in the United States (estimates of 40% of the population being obese by 2008), it is critical that banning Ephedra weight-loss products be based on science and not on politics. The question that the FDA needs to answer is why were only some Ephedra products, especially the Ephedra weight-loss products, banned while other Ephedra products are allowed to remain on the market. If Ephedra is as dangerous as the FDA claims then they should require the removal of every product that contains Ephedra. Mr. Kennedy shows how this has not happened and includes some startling pictures of excluded Ephedra products designed for infants with pictures of little babies right on the labels. Somehow these Ephedra products escaped the FDA's ban. What else can explain the FDA's bias than politics?

Contact
Ben Kennedy
[email protected]

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