Miracle diet pill alli sold to slim women by chemists

From the Times (UK):
High street chemists are selling a new over-the-counter diet pill to women who do not have weight problems, a report has claimed.

During an investigation into the fat-busting drug alli, Which?, the consumer magazine, found that half of independent pharmacies approved the sale to researchers who did not need it.

Trials have showed that adding alli to a reduced-calorie, lower-fat diet can help people to lose 50 per cent more fat than by dieting alone. Alli aids weight loss by blocking absorption of fat from food into the body. However, licensing conditions for the tablets, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, stipulate the drug should only be sold to overweight people with a body mass index (BMI) of 28 or above.

Two weeks after the pill went on sale in May in chemists’ shops, Which? sent seven undercover researchers to 32 outlets, including small chains and retailers such as Boots and Lloyds. ...more

Chemists to provide obesity pill

From BBC News:
The obesity pill, orlistat, has been licensed to be sold over-the-counter at chemists in the EU.

The pill, which works by blocking the absorption of fat in the body, will be available at a lower dose than doctors generally prescribe.

It is aimed at adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28 or more.

One expert said it may help some people with weight loss but they would have to take a conscious decision to eat less fatty foods.

The Royal College of GPs said everyone who wanted the pill should go to their GP for advice because some of them would have treatable causes for their obesity - and all of them would have risk factors for other illnesses which would need to be discussed.

GlaxoSmithKline, who make the pill known commercially as alli, say their clinical trials show that adding orlistat to a reduced calorie, lower fat diet, can help people lose 50% more weight than dieting alone.

But if they persist in eating fat, they will experience some nasty side effects such as diarrhoea and gas problems. ...more

Bogus pharmacist case scrutinised

From BBC News:
The medicines regulator is re-examining how a bogus pharmacist bought large quantities of slimming pills and got funding from a pharmaceutical giant.

Robin Huxley, a salesman from Barnsley, was jailed last month for 14 months for illegally prescribing Xenical.

Roche, which markets Xenical, believed Huxley was a pharmacist running a group of slimming clinics alongside a doctor.

The company says it was simply the victim of crime, but an ex-employee has raised concerns about its practices.

Dr. Ryta Kuzel, the former head of regulatory affairs, said: "I feel strongly Roche's business practices have put people's lives at risk and they haven't been called to account." ...more

Anti-obesity drugs provide only modest weight loss

From CTV News:
Anti-obesity medications can only help obese patients lose a "modest" amount of weight, report Canadian researchers in a review of a group of studies on the long-term effectiveness of the drugs.

The researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary reviewed 30 placebo-controlled studies in which adults took anti-obesity drugs for a year or longer. ...more

Over-the-counter diet pill goes on sale in U.S.

I remember when Xenical, the prescription version of orlistat, was introduced in Canada. It was heavily hyped, but because of price, lack of noticeable benefits and bad side effects it mostly faded out of view. I suspect the OTC version will face the same fate. A few people will benefit from this treatment and lose some weight. However, the majority of patients will try it, and then realize that you really do have to cut your fat intake or else you get nasty bowel-related side effects. As soon as they realize it's not a magic pill or when they soil their pants, they'll stop using it. I doubt we'll see it in Canada anytime soon.

From CTV News:
Canadian health officials watched closely on Friday as Alli, the first over-the-counter diet pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, went on sale south of the border.

The drug, which reduces the amount of fat absorbed by the body after a meal by roughly 25 per cent, is available in Canada under a different name, but still requires a prescription.

"It's been around for quite a long time," Yoni Freedhoff of the Bariatric Medical Institute, an Ottawa-based weight loss centre, told CTV News.

"Studies show that people taking it for two years lose up to eight kilograms. But the way it works, of course, is by either delaying or blocking the absorption of fat in the gut. And the way it blocks it is, well, it comes out -- 'fast' is a good objective to use." ...more