Alli: My Thoughts on the Popular Weight Loss Drug

I assumed that Ali would be a runaway hit when I heard it was being offered over the counter. I figured if Hoodia and Green Tea products could fly off the shelves surely a product that was not only FDA approved but also previously a prescription drug would sell. I also assumed that because it was a lower dosage people that previously discontinued use of Orlistat (or Xenical) might be more apt to try again. However, I do not know one person that has sampled the drug and every time I check it seems like the price of the pill is lowered. I wondered why people would knowingly and willingly take a product such as phen-fen after the heart defect litigation began but weren't willing to withstand a little loose stool to drop more weight.

Alli is a pill that prevents about a quarter of the fat you eat from being broken down in your intestines. Your body naturally passes the fat through your stool instead. Since Alli only affects your fat intake any carbohydrates or proteins you receive will be properly absorbed. Therefore, unlike caffeine pills, ephedrine, and phentermine you will not experience any side effects like restlessness, racing heart, dry mouth, nervousness, etc... That's not to say that Alli has no negative side effects. Since the pill eliminates your fat in this manner, you must reduce the amount of fat to 15 grams or under per meal or your elimination of the excess fat will be in larger quantities. You may take one pill up to three times a day. Eating over 15 grams of fat per meal may cause urgent bowel movements, diarrhea, and gas with oily spotting. Sounds lovely!

Apparently the gas with oily spotting is so severe that the manufacturer of the drug, GlaxoSmithKline advises people to wear dark pants or bring a change of clothes to work until you acclimate to the side effects of the drug. Side effects may decrease in time apparently.

A study financed by the makes of the drug Orlistat (Hoffmann-La Roche) and published in the January 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 892 obese, adults, mostly women, who were studied at 18 medical centers across the country. Their average weight at the start of the study was about 220 pounds. After one year, those who were randomly assigned to take Orlistat and follow a weight loss diet lost an average of 19.3 pounds while those assigned to take a placebo and follow the same weight loss diet lost about 12.8 pounds. The weight loss with orlistat was 50 percent greater than with placebo

According to a June 12th 2008 article in the Daily News, the first three days Alli was on the market it made over $12 million and over $32 million in the first three months. However, the next month sales slowed to $16 and continued to decline each month, to make a mere $7 million in December of 2007. GlaxoSmithKline reportedly spent $150 million to promote Alli. But just $125 million worth of the drug was sold in 2007; according to figures compiled by the pharmaceutical market research group IMS Health.