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Limited demand for new diet pill
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By DANNY ADLER
Diet and nutrition sections in almost every bookstore are bursting with books that claim losing weight is easy. Late-night TV infomercials boast the same thing.
So when the first federally-approved, over-the-counter weight-loss drug debuted throughout the country last week, it seemed like a pharmaceutical slam dunk.
Not.
Alli, the brand name for orlistat, a drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, helps people lose weight by preventing the body from absorbing about 25 percent of fat ingested. The manufacturer claims the drug can help increase weight loss by 50 percent. The drug has been available for several years as the stronger prescription drug, Xenical.
So why are many local pharmacies reporting little demand for the nonprescription diet pill?
Two reasons: First, many stores haven't yet received the drug. Second, the drug has some not-so-charming side effects.
"I'm not going to recommend it," said Jon Brookland, a pharmacist at the Street Road Pharmacy who ordered one unit of the medicine, which should arrive Monday. "I'm going to put it right next to our adult diapers and recommend people buy one of each."
The Bensalem pharmacist is referring to side effects of the drug (pronounced "ally"), such as loose stools, gas with oily spotting and frequent, hard-to-control trips to the restroom.
In fact, the drug's Web site, www.myalli.com, warns "until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work." A low-fat diet of no more than an average of 15 grams of fat per meal should help reduce those effects, the Web site says.
"For a 5 percent decrease in body weight, it doesn't seem worth it," he said. "But then again, not everybody has side effects. For those people it's worth a try, I guess."
The Windsor Pharmacy in the Levittown section of Bristol Township hasn't received the drug yet either, and nobody's even asking about it, pharmacist Joseph Mullay said.
Mullay said people were more curious about the drug when it first started making headlines, but word of the drug's side effects made people lose interest.
Danny Adler can be reached at 215-949-4205 or dadler@phillyBurbs.com.
Source: Bucks County Courier TimesAll rights reserved.