Weight-loss medicine mis-sold

[Posted: Thu 05/11/2009 by Joanne McCarthy]

The over-the-counter weight loss medicine alli is being mis-sold in pharmacies, an investigation by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) has revealed.

The investigation found that eight out of the 20 pharmacies visited at random were breaching the terms of sale of alli by selling the product to a person with a body mass index (BMI) of 19.1. This is nine points below the manufacturer’s guideline BMI of 28. A BMI of 18.5 – 24.9 is usually considered normal weight.

A licence was granted to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) earlier this year allowing it to market alli, the first over-the-counter weight loss medicine, in the EU.

“If users of alli are not monitored it makes it too easy to obtain and this opens up the potential for abuse, particularly in vulnerable groups such as teenagers and people with eating disorders,” said the CAI’s food and health researcher, Sinead McMahon.

The CAI believes that neither alli nor any weight-loss pills should be available for sale without prescription.

“Direct supervision by a healthcare professional would mean that patients’ progress is monitored and the pills are not taken indefinitely,” said Ms McMahon.

The CAI will be referring their survey results to the Health Minister and Department of Health and requesting an immediate unannounced audit of pharmacies to ascertain their level of compliance.

“We will be further requesting that the Department investigate the causes of our proven instances of non-compliance and advise us of their intended measures for restoring consumer confidence,” said Dermot Jewell, chief executive of the CAI.

According to the CAI, when alli was launched in Ireland, GSK said that they take the need to market alli responsibly very seriously, and that they were training pharmacists to help them provide advice on weight loss to ensure they recommend alli to suitable patients only.

“GSK stated that pharmacists would check that anyone who wishes to purchase alli is over 18 years of age and has a BMI of 28 or over and that customers would be asked further questions to determine their suitability to use the product,” the CAI said.

Anonymous  Posted: 09/11/2009 12:57

BMI of 19.1! That, if anything, is underweight.

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