NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - General Nutrition Centers said Friday it will stop selling any products that contain the ingredient ephedra.

The company will halt the sale of those products at the end of June. Products containing ephedra have been suspected of contributing to deaths by users, including Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler in February. Suffolk County, N.Y. has already banned products containing ephedra and other jurisdictions, including New York City, are considering such bans.

"We believe that ephedra-based products are safe when used as directed," said a statement from GNC, which with 5,300 stores is the largest specialty retailer in the nutritional supplement segment. "Nonetheless, the current business climate dictates that we move in a different direction."

The store said that it will take a one-time charge due to the cost of pulling products from its inventory. It said it should still be profitable for 2003. It said success of its new ephedra-free product, "showed us that the consumer trend towards e-free products is on the rise."

GNC is based in Pittsburgh and owned by Dutch retailer Royal Numico N.V.