Another healthcare organization has joined the growing number of public interest groups calling for the immediate ban of dietary supplements containing the herbal stimulant ephedra. In a statement submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Thursday, the American Heart Association urged the federal government to halt sales of ephedra, citing the substance's link to stroke, heart attack, seizure, arrhythmia and death.

According to the statement, "the potential health hazards associated with ephedrine are too serious to permit them to be sold on the open market." Calling the Heart Association's letter "disappointing," a spokesperson for the dietary supplement industry's Ephedra Education Council insisted the weight loss aid's alleged harmful side effects have not been proven scientifically.

Ephedra use recently became a hot topic among medical officials when the stimulant was linked to the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler. Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen recently linked ephedra to more than 100 deaths.