FDA Irresponsibly Approves OTC Status For Orlistat

Filed under: In The News — @ February 9, 2007

An OTC version of the weight loss drug orlistat gets FDA-approval

It wasn’t a matter of if, but when.

This Washington Post story details the disappointing news that the United States government regulatory agency over approving medicines that can be sold without a prescription in this country has given its final blessing to an over-the-counter version of a prescription weight loss drug made by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, who calls this “the only FDA-approved weight loss product available to consumers without a prescription.” Yippee freakin’ skippy!

You may recall last January when I blogged about the weight loss drug orlistat following an 11-2 recommendation by a group of medical “experts” who deliberated for all of one whole day about whether the risky prescription medicine Xenical should be made available in an OTC formula.

On Thursday, the Food & Drug Adminstration (FDA) made it official and gave the rubber stamp to sell orlistat using the name “Alli.” No, it’s not pronounced like Muhammed Ali (AH-LEE), but rather like the word “ally” (AL-EYE) as in someone who is on your side.

The irony in that name is that the FDA is certainly no “Alli” to anyone desiring weight loss with their outlandish and irresponsible approval of this drug.

Click here to find out why eating a low-carb diet is prohibited when you are taking the OTC drug “Alli” and, even worse, the tremendous health risks you are taking with your body if you think this drug is right for your weight loss plan.