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Health

Weight loss pill Orlistat to be sold at chemists

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The European Commission has ruled that the weight loss pill Orlistat will be soon available over the counter at chemists and pharmacies. Orlistat has been a prescription drug for over 10 years and is used to treat obiesity; it is proven to help people lose up to 50% more weight than just dieting alone.

The ruling, which is the first to approve a weight loss drug for non-prescription, states that Orliatat can be sold through chemists and pharmacies only if it is kept behind the counter, and they can only sell it to people with a body mass index of 28 or higher.

Orlistat, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), will be sold under the name Alli and will be available in half the dose prescribed by doctors. A spokesman for GSK, James Hallatt said that the ruling was a “significant milestone”.

And added: “We are pleased that we can offer a new, clinically proven option for thousands of people who struggle to lose weight.”

The drug is likely to become available in the next few months, but the manufacturer warns that it is not a wonder pill. The pill must be taken as part of a low-fat diet; customers who continue to eat high fat foods will suffer from various side effects such as diarrhoea and gas.

3 Comments

  • not a nice way to bring things up.
    myblogisgreat wrote on 26th January 2009
  • i hope this helps the fat ones lose all that extra weight they insist on carrying around with them.
    Matt Chin wrote on 10th February 2009
  • I was put on Orlistat around 4 years ago. Following major leg and back surgery I was unable to exercise at all and put on weight no matter how much I tried to manage my diet. I was virtually immobile. At first there is a genuine effect and I lost weight. This effect is as much psychological as it is physical. I was left on the drug for over two years, I was one pound (500gms) lighter after that time. Initially I lost weight, around 30 lbs but I don't know how much of that was my diet rather than the orlistat. After around 8 months I found it to be virtually ineffective but carried on through habit because it was prescribed to me. Now I have lost the excess weight naturally. I can't say that I benefitted from this drug at all, others I spoke to used it as an excuse to over eat and eat the wrong things. Beware.....take the ill effects of a fatty diet and Orlistat effects seriously. In my experience Orlistat causes a severe bowel reaction which is uncomfortable, painful and prolonged.
    Rupertbear wrote on 26th March 2009

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