BIRMINGHAM, AL — A jury Tuesday ordered Metabolife International to pay $4.1 million to four users of Metabolife 356, a popular over-the-counter appetite suppressant, who experienced health problems. The jury said the company should have warned customers that Metabolife 356 pills contained Ephedra, an herb that increases blood pressure and has been blamed for heart attacks and strokes. The case was the first among numerous such lawsuits to go to trial.

Tuesday’s verdict came the same day that Metabolife gave the Justice Depart 1,400 additional records of customer complaints, including 14 that mentioned serious side effects. The company already had turned over 14,700 other complaints to the Justice Department and the Food and Drug Administration.

(via The Associated Press)