Reactions To FDA Orlistat Ruling For Alli

The reaction to the big diet drug news that the low dose version of Xenical (called Alli) has been approved for over the counter sale has been mixed. There are those that welcomed the news as they say that this easy access to weight loss medication will help eradicate the terrible problem that America faces with regard to it obesity problem. They argue that even though the drug does have side effects and it could be abused, if it can help in anyway to reduce obesity in America it will save the nation money in healthcare and stop people from getting heart disease and other obesity related illnesses.

There are those who also say that for the first time it will now be possible to get a weight loss drug that will compete on a level playing field with the huge American weight loss supplement industry. This industry is riddled with fake and untested products some of which have been the subject of FTC fines and sanction recently. Many of these supplements have no proven healthy and weight loss value unlike orlistat (the key ingredient in Xenical and Alli) that has been the subject of many clinical trials and extensive testing over the years. At least if people start to use Alli they will be using something that has a good safety record is one argument in favour of letting Alli be sold over the counter.

Those people who are against the introduction of Alli say that America must learn to tackle obesity at its grassroots level and buying drugs to lose weight is not the answer. They also say that in some tests it was seen that orlistat increased the chances of a certain cancer; but then being overweight dramatically increases your chances of getting cancer too. The FDA decided that the cancer risks were negligible and reckoned that Alli could be a useful weight loss tool for people and were swayed to some extent by the fact that America has the highest percentage of overweight and obese people in the world and that direct action needs to be taken.

Ukmedix feels that orlistat is a very useful drug for weight loss but that it needs to be used properly with a low fat diet and that therefore it is important that pharmacists are trained to give the correct advice when dispensing the weight loss product Alli and that Alli is only given to people who need it.