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WASHINGTON - The U.S. battle against obesity has a new weapon - the first government-approved diet pill that can be bought without a prescription.
Intended only for people 18 and older, the drug, called alli, is a reduced-strength version of the prescription diet drug Xenical.
The Food and Drug Administration announced its on Wednesday approval of sales of the lower-dose drug without a prescription, although officials stressed that it needs to be used in combination with a diet and exercise program.

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The history of prescription drugs for weight-loss is not exactly pretty and now we are seeing those previously prescription-only tablets going over the counter. This American article had not been put into a Canadian context so unfortunately there is no information on the drug's availability or cost in Canada.

While it would be great if there was an easily taken, cheap and effective treatment to help people lose weight, we don't learn if this new OTC version of orlistat has any of these properties, seeing that there is not very much information beyond opinion here. While the article mentioned some side effects (mostly gastrointestinal) the action of the drug, in blocking the absorption of fat, leads to a much unpleasant effects, including the increased risk of oily spotting and fecal incontinence; As well there is a concern of malnutrition and in clinical trials more patients taking orlistat required vitamin A and D supplementation than patients on placebo.

What is most useful in stories like these, is to know if the drug in question is tested against the alternatives diet and exercise (it wasn't), so we will never really know how it works against the standard non-drug treatments.

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