Google’s crackin’ down—some AdWords users have received an email stating that the company will soon forbid any advertisements related to the drug ephedra. You know, ephedra, the dietary supplement that the FDA banned in 2004. Attention to detail is a commendable quality, but I can’t quite figure this move out; after all, Google’s Content Policy has already outlawed “drugs and drug paraphernalia,” as well as “prescription drugs and related content,” so the new regulation seems a bit redundant…[Lou] Pickney’s the fellow who received Google’s email, and he writes [on the WebmasterWorld Forum], “Google will no longer accept AdWords ads promoting the sale of ephedra or ‘ephedrine-based’ products.” Pickney then adds, “It actually surprises me that it took this long for Google to make the move.”

‘Tis all very mystifying, but Google’s ban of ephedra isn’t likely to meet with many objections.

—Doug Caverly, webpronews.com, 07/12/07