Diet Pill Meridia

Over one hundred billion dollars were spent last year on over-the-counter diet aids in 2001 and had a 95% failure rate. Americans continue to buy diet pills to combat the growing problem of obesity in this country. When Fen Phen was approved it had immediate success and substantial results. Americans fled to their doctors for the breakthrough in diet pills, but the pill claimed too good to be true. In 1997, Fen Phen was withdrawn from the market after 6-7 million Americans took the diet pill and many suffered heart valve disease and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension that resulted in numerous class actions and individual lawsuits.

video   Cynthia Bowers reports on what's new in the hunt for safe and effective weight loss.

In 1996, an FDA advisory committee voted against the approval of the diet pill Meridia because it raised blood pressure and more information was needed. The FDA still approved Meridia one year later despite the ban of the two previous diet pills linked to serious risks and Meridia side effects. The FDA warned upon approval, stating that the diet pill Meridia can cause increases in blood pressure and pulse rate that may endanger certain patients. Dr. James Bilstad of the FDA stated "we still have some concern" but that the diet pill Meridia did not appear to pose the risk of heart valve damage that Redux, fenfluramine, and Fen Phen did.

The 29 U.S. Meridia deaths have been mainly linked to heart problems. Public Citizen petitioned the FDA for the immediate ban of Meridia in March 2002 because they found "there is no evidence that the drug has prolonged the life of a single patient, or reduced the risks of strokes or heart attack tied to obesity. Instead, it has left patients with only higher risks of injury or death from using it- and high drug bills." Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen predicts the diet pill Meridia will be taken off the market, but Abbott Laboratories continues to stand by their diet pill.

Most recently, Public Citizen urged U.S officials to bring criminal charges against Abbott Laboratories because they said the pharmaceutical giants illegally withheld information from regulators regarding eight Meridia deaths and other side effects in Meridia patients. From the time of approval, Abbott Laboratories has tried hard to distinguish their diet pill Meridia from the then recently withdrawn diet pill Fen Phen that cost the lives and health of countless people. Now Abbott is facing problems of their own, and if they have in fact failed to report Meridia deaths that are required by law to report, they can stand in violation and for knowingly risking the lives of all Meridia patients by withholding information.

For the 58 million, and growing, number of overweight Americans, the search for a diet pill miracle will continue regardless of Meridia's outcome. Researchers are continuing to study how to trick the brain into wanting less food in order to prevent instances of binging. The future of diet pills is the development of drugs like Axokine that are now being developed, but they will not be available for a few years. The health problems that Fen Phen and now Meridia are having will certainly be on the minds of the FDA when approving the newest breakthrough in diet pills.

• What is the diet pill Meridia?
• When was Meridia approved?
• Is the diet pill Meridia different than the recalled diet pill Fen Phen?

FDA Petitioned to Ban the Diet Pill Meridia

On March 19, 2002, the Public Citizen consumer group petitioned the FDA for the immediate ban of the diet pill Meridia. This is Public Citizen's fifth petition it has filed with the FDA to ban a drug since 1996. The group's petition came after they called Meridia "unacceptably dangerous" and referred to the 29 deaths that have resulted since Meridia's launch in the beginning of 1998. Of the 29 deaths that Public Citizen cited from the FDA database, 19 of the deaths were caused by cardiovascular adverse Meridia side effects. FDA advisors voted against the approval of the diet pill Meridia 5-4 because of the safety concerns associated to the diet pill, including elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate. Since 1997, almost 9 million people have used a sibutramine-based drug, the chemical name of the diet pill Meridia.

To view the Public Citizen petition
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