IT has been hailed a miracle cure among dieters, but the side effects of the first over-the-counter weight loss pill, Alli, might change their minds.

Orlistat – brand name Alli – works by blocking the absorption of fat in the body and has been on sale over the counter in the UK since April.

Well-publicised for its ability to help people lose weight, it has also attracted attention for its unsavoury side effects, ranging from abdominal pain, diarrhoea, gas problems and even an unpleasant discharge.

It has been licensed for prescription in the UK for more than ten years and manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline says that adding Orlistat to a reduced-calorie, lower fat diet can help people lose more than 50 per cent weight than dieting alone.

With 13 million people forecast to become obese by 2010, the market for a miracle cure is huge.

Dieters spent £47million last year on pills and diet aids, but should we really be able to buy diet pills such as Alli so easily?

York GP Brian McGregor, director of North Yorkshire’s local medical committee, has prescribed it to some of his patients over the years.

The dose available on prescription is higher than that over the counter, he says, and with a prescription charge of £7.10, it is much cheaper too.

It can work very well, he agrees, but it is no miracle cure. In fact, it requires a fair bit of work from the dieter, too.

“I’ve prescribed it quite frequently,” he said.

“This particular form of diet pill works very well on people that eat the wrong things. It forces them to go on a healthier diet, a low fat diet. They can’t sustain a high fat diet with this pill because of its side effects.”

People who use Alli should be committed to making lifestyle changes, he says.

They must also have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28 or more.

York pharmacies stocking Alli include Asda, selling 84 capsules for £45, and Tesco, where it is priced at £49.95.

Pharmacist Henry Hepworth, who works at Michael Hepworth (Chemist) Ltd, in Fulford, does not stock it, but can order it.

“Would I recommend it? I’m not sure that I would,” he said.

“If somebody wanted it I would point out the facts but without ever trying to talk them out of it; it’s their choice.

“I think that just trying to be sensible about it, a diet is a much healthier and happier way of going on; you can get rather embarrassing side effects with Alli.”

He is unconvinced that making Alli so readily available is a great step forward for those who are overweight, but sees the benefits of making some drugs easier to get hold of.

“My thoughts are that on the continent more medicines are available over the counter than they are here and, to be honest, I tend to think that it’s not a bad idea because it saves people time.”

Other diet pills on the market include Appesat, a pill made from a strain of seaweed that tricks the brain into thinking the stomach is full. There are plenty of herbal diet pills available too.

Dr McGregor sometimes prescribes appetite suppressant Sibutramine, but he would not support over-the-counter administration of that.

“It can have more significant side effects, such as putting your blood pressure up,” he said. “While the side effects for Alli are antisocial and unpleasant, they are not as significant as those of Sibutramine, which needs to be monitored.”

Neither dieting nor using Alli is easy, says dietician Paul Thomas, who works at York Hospital, and he would recommend people seek advice before buying Alli.

They should also be wary of eating hidden fats, and that fat content can be affected by the way you cook “It is important that people appreciate how this drug works,” he said. “The problem is that if people are looking for a quick fix they think it will do that for them, but it does require them to make dietary changes.

“It can’t be seen as a miracle drug, but it can be a temporary support together with good lifestyle behaviour.”

What is Alli?

The active ingredient, orlistat, works by blocking the action of enzymes in the bowel — lipases — that break down fats into their constituent components so that they can be more easily absorbed.

It results in a significant reduction in fat absorption, with around 25 to 35 per cent of the fat content of a meal that would otherwise have been absorbed passing straight through the bowel, significantly reducing the person’s calorie intake.

However, side effects can include pain, diarrhoea, gas problems and even an unpleasant discharge.

‘It is not healthy to lose weight quickly’

FORMER Slimming World cover girl Claire Stabler, of Osbaldwick, knows exactly how hard dieting can be.

She ballooned to 12.2 stones after eating too many takeaways, crisps and chocolate and endured cycles of binge eating and starvation diets before finding a diet that worked.

After joining Slimming World, she shed nearly three-and-a-half stone, and now runs her own Slimming World group in Dringhouses, York.

“I never took any slimming tablets. I think people see them as a quick fix,” she says.

“But it doesn’t take people a couple of weeks to put on the weight in the first place, so it will take a while for it to come off and when you have lost the weight you still have to learn how to eat healthily. You would be better off eating healthy food that makes you feel better in yourself and drinking lots of water.”

Michelle Willsher, a team leader for 35 Slimming World groups in York and North and East Yorkshire, worries about Alli being passed to the wrong people.

“I am sure the pharmacists are very well trained on who to dispense Alli to, and that there are lots of rules and regulations, but one of my worries is who might it get passed on to if the person who bought them doesn’t like them or they don’t stick to their plan?” she says.

Sensible dieting is about healthy eating and changing habits for the rest of your life, which takes time, she said.

“It is not healthy to lose weight very quickly.”