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Xenical and the Can of Worms

© Adelle Vancil Tilton

One of the largest industries in the United States is the weight loss industry. Numerous clinics, companies, medications, techniques, diet plans and books are continually thrust at the consumer, in an effort to communicate to the overweight individual that "this" plan will work, for a fee of course. Most of these plans are harmless, some are effective and some work for lifestyle changes that benefit health all the way around.

Some of these, particularly medications, are not so harmless. In fact some can be borderline dangerous. Many are produced and approved by the FDA without really giving patients the total story of the impact of these drugs. Theoretically the physician and pharmacy would be the buffer between the patient and the drug to provide the safety net. But now, it just isn't that simple.

Recently the FDA officially made a request to Hoffmann-La Roche, a major pharmaceutical powerhouse, that they remove their media advertising regarding the weight loss drug they manufacture, Xenical. Xenical has been pushed everywhere as the newest and the most safe alternative to the more dangerous diet drugs we have seen in the past, such as Phen-phen and Redux. However, the FDA has determined that Hoffman-La Roche has made it seem like the easy way out, no health issues, no side effects and no real reason to not take it - for even a small weight loss of 30 pounds. The issue, the FDA says, is about side effects not being properly announced in the advertising.

Drug advertising is a relatively new thing. We see it continually but there are strict requirements for the ad to be "allowed" to run. Amongst those requirements is the listing of the most common side effects and the statement about the drug not being for everyone. Xenical, according the FDA is not abiding with this. They were required to respond to the FDA on this matter by April 13 and comply or pull the ads.

That in itself is not really a big deal, certainly not worthy of a mention in a column that deals with Public Health Issues. But what I found as I was looking into this, is worthy of note. I did some research on Xenical and found that there was really only one official site for the medication. But I found hundreds of sites about Xenical. Selling it. Online. Without a doctor's prescription.

I checked into it a little and discovered that should I have wanted to, I could have gone to a number of sites and ordered this medication with a credit card and checking off a few simple boxes about my age, that I promised not not take any other medications, I would monitor my blood pressure and other basic things. Another site said I would have to go through an online evaluation AFTER I gave them my credit card number and then within 24 hours I would hear if my new cyber-doc would approve my request. But they were very thoughtful, wondering if I had other health concerns they could address, and took me to a webpage which listed approximately 20 prescription medications that I could get through them. Amongst these drugs, were the ever popular Viagra, the Xenical of course, Celebrex, Propecia and more. 24 hour wait. A few questions and pharmaceutical solutions are in the mail.

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