The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Jan. 21 said that it found the use of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Xenical diet pill (also known as orlistat) risky without proper care from a doctor. Glaxo is in the process of having their pill sold over-the-counter (OTC), rather than through prescriptions, and renaming it Alli.

Specifically, the FDA fears that transplant patients and diabetics may abuse the drug, without an intervening doctor's advice. Glaxo stated that the OTC version of Xenical will be a pill with a lower dosage compared to the prescription form.

Xenical is a drug that blocks the absorption of 25 percent of the body's fat. The fat leaves the person's body through a loose or oily bowel movement. The FDA decided in 1999 that Xenical was safe enough to pass as a prescription drug.

Find out what the FDA has to say about GlaxoSmithKline's over the counter xenical diet pill at http://www.foodconsumer.org/777/8/FDA_finds_risk_in_GlaxoSmithKline_PLC_s_Xenical_diet_pill.shtml.