if you could die from a tablet of ephedra dont you think the deaths by ephedra would have increased dramatically.

There have only been six deaths were ephedrine was actually established to be a causal factor. "Linked" just means someone died and happened to be taking ephedrine at the time. In only two of these six deaths were the subjects taking ephedrine alone. In one case, an individual who took 600 mg daily for years and died after a large dose while exercising in the heat. In the other case blood levels were indicative of an extremely high dose.

Whether you believe there was 6 deaths, 100, or 1000, you cannot ignore the fact that in the vast majority of the cases the people were taking both ephedrine and caffeine. So it is just as logical to attribute it to the ephedrine alone as it is to attribute it to the caffeine alone. If you are going to attribute it to anything, it would be the combination of the two.

Yes, it's a possibility - definitely something to watch out for. This is something I'd only be concerned with if planning on using it for years though.

Well, that's kind of a loaded question, since any time you take something there is risk involved. There is never a 100% safety guarantee. But it does not pose a great danger to you, just listen to your body.