Alli, which is half-strength Rx Orlistat, available OTC for 2+ years as a weight loss pill, has been scammed.
A fake lot of Alli is loaded with sibutramine (Rx Meridia), which is another major weight loss pill. But its major side effect is high blood pressure and in some people, stroke.
You bet this has Pharma concerned. And it should. Don’t take Alli or sibutramine if you have high blood pressure or heart disease.
Where you might have been expecting (yuck alert) oily rectal seepage you, as an Alli purchaser, might get instead, paralysis and, um, death. Alli blocks some fat from being absorbed, if you eat enough fat.
France’s Agency for the Sanitary Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS) last week took sibutramine off the market. It’s been on since 2001. Great Britain has suspended sales. Why? Heart attack and strokes.
Many doctors are reluctant to prescribe weight loss pills, for just these reasons. And one more: more physicians know that weight control is about eating when you’re not hungry.
It’s remarkable good news that we’ll have a SuperSize Me +1 documentary about mindless eating. The NYTimes reports that Creative Coalition, that helped create “Inconvenient Truth” is about to tackle this…with Alli-maker Glaxo support.