2008 Woodie Awards
Diet pill must remain prescription-only
Issue date: 1/27/06 Section: Opinion
There's a new diet pill out there that is creating quite a buzz, but all for the wrong reasons.
Why Orlistat is creating such a stir is because the FDA wants to approve it as an over-the-counter drug. Considering the "success" of past drugs like ephedrine, we can't see how or why the FDA would allow this drug to go into over-the-counter sales. Is the drug safe? Right now, that's an unknown. But the major problem with this drug is not necessarily the actual drug; it's what people will do with the drug, and that's abuse it. Some people do actually take the Orlistat as they're supposed to, within the safety guidelines of the drug. But there will probably be people out there who will want a quick fix, see a new drug, get hooked on it immediately and then take more than what is healthy so they can lose weight faster. That doesn't work. It's happened before, and it's probably going to happen again if this new drug goes over-the-counter.
Abuse is common with these drugs, even on a prescription level. Some people who take this drug are either going to give it away for money or in a worse case, develop an addiction to the drug. Addiction takes away from healthy eating and exercise habits and makes people more dependent on the drug. The last thing that America needs is to have people becoming even lazier and taking the quick fix, rather than taking the extra time to eat right, exercise even occasionally or to be safer about it.
Taking Orlistat will not be the solution to all of life's problems, and the side effects associated with it could end up being more harmful than you would think.
It's not like the FDA has never dealt with this situation before. This is becoming a more common occurrence every two or three years now, where there is a new diet drug that the drug companies are trying to push through so they can overcharge the people who will no doubt take the pill for some of the reasons mentioned above. Imagine if the FDA were irresponsible enough to actually put it over-the-counter. The abuse and the black market for this would be outrageous.
Those reasons are just some of the reasons why we feel this new latest and greatest diet drug should stay on a prescription-only basis. An artificial cure is not always the best plan.
Why Orlistat is creating such a stir is because the FDA wants to approve it as an over-the-counter drug. Considering the "success" of past drugs like ephedrine, we can't see how or why the FDA would allow this drug to go into over-the-counter sales. Is the drug safe? Right now, that's an unknown. But the major problem with this drug is not necessarily the actual drug; it's what people will do with the drug, and that's abuse it. Some people do actually take the Orlistat as they're supposed to, within the safety guidelines of the drug. But there will probably be people out there who will want a quick fix, see a new drug, get hooked on it immediately and then take more than what is healthy so they can lose weight faster. That doesn't work. It's happened before, and it's probably going to happen again if this new drug goes over-the-counter.
Abuse is common with these drugs, even on a prescription level. Some people who take this drug are either going to give it away for money or in a worse case, develop an addiction to the drug. Addiction takes away from healthy eating and exercise habits and makes people more dependent on the drug. The last thing that America needs is to have people becoming even lazier and taking the quick fix, rather than taking the extra time to eat right, exercise even occasionally or to be safer about it.
Taking Orlistat will not be the solution to all of life's problems, and the side effects associated with it could end up being more harmful than you would think.
It's not like the FDA has never dealt with this situation before. This is becoming a more common occurrence every two or three years now, where there is a new diet drug that the drug companies are trying to push through so they can overcharge the people who will no doubt take the pill for some of the reasons mentioned above. Imagine if the FDA were irresponsible enough to actually put it over-the-counter. The abuse and the black market for this would be outrageous.
Those reasons are just some of the reasons why we feel this new latest and greatest diet drug should stay on a prescription-only basis. An artificial cure is not always the best plan.
