Frangible,
The ingredient you mention in most OTC cold remedies is pseudoephedrine, not ephedrine.
I'm not intrepreting at all, the second portion of the quote,
"Are you prohibiting the sale of ephedra?
That is, essentially, what the rule will do. The rule concludes that dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids present an unreasonable risk to the public health and are adulterated under Section 402(f)(1)(A) of the FD&C Act."
Should clear that up. Ephedrine, the drug itself, has not been legal for sale in the United States. It was only it's inclusion in the food/dietary supplement area that it slipped by. The FDA recognized what was going on, and rightfully limited it's use to the traditional uses in Chinese medicine that Ma Juang (spelling is various, and ephedra is the actual latin name for the plant) or the ephedra plant and its distillates was used. That's how the VasoPro is getting by, but don't expect it for long, the FDA and DEA are cracking down on these types of uses as they don't qualify for the exception, because they don't fit that "traditional Chinese medicine" loophole.
Pseudoephedrine, is widely used in cold medicines and is one of the base chemicals in the production of Methamphetamine, (ephedrine can also be used, but because the drug itself is not available easily it isn't.) Controlling OTC purchases has recently become a priority of the FDA and DEA, as well as some states, who now require prescriptions for what is OTC in some places.
Larry is, of course correct. He is a perfectionist, and though distillation removes enough of the bacteria for me to feel safe, I guess the argument could be made to boil it before use if it has been stored any significant length of time. The pyogenic things won't be gone though.
Boiling is just good practice for any water of unknown quality, but I'd bet my tap water, and yours, has more stuff than distilled water stored for a year!
Bill
I use sodium chlorite personally, as that kills cryptosporidia (a real threat here in Montana).
