Florida Heeds Studies, Adopts Emergency Ban On Controversial Diet Pill Fen-Phen

Florida became the only state with a current ban on the fen-phen diet-pill combination Monday, heeding studies that linked the mixture to rare heart-valve defects.

An emergency ban unanimously adopted by the state Board of Medicine will be in effect until the state draws up strict rules for use of the drugs.

Under the ban, the drug combination cannot be prescribed or administered to new patients, and current patients must be off the drugs within 30 days.

“We felt there was a need for the protection of the public,” said Dr. Gary Winchester, a family physician on the board.

In July, the Food and Drug Administration cautioned physicians that Mayo Clinic studies linked the combination of fenfluramine and phentermine to rare heart-valve defects. The valve damage was found in 80 fen-phen patients.

In Florida, a medical examiner blamed fen-phen in part for the July heart attack that killed 53-year-old Pat Mishcon, the wife of North Miami Beach’s mayor.

The vote makes Florida the only state with a current ban on fen-phen. Tennessee lifted a six-year ban earlier this year and adopted strict guidelines for use.

The Florida board will consider rules in October aimed at similarly limiting the fen-phen combination to people so overweight their obesity poses greater health risks than the use of the drugs.

Both drugs are approved for use individually, though the FDA and manufacturers of the drugs have warned against using them together.

A federal lawsuit is pending in Washington seeking an FDA ban on the combination. The suit was filed Friday by two organizations representing people who claim they have been injured by the drugs.