The first over-the-counter diet pill Alli is the front-runner as far global sale is concerned and its rival Acomplia (rimonabant)— available in Europe but not approved in the U.S.—  is nowhere near to the sales being racked up by over-the-counter diet pill Alli in the U.S. market, according to the two drugs' distributors.

Hanspeter Spek— Sanofi's executive vice president for pharmaceutical operations— said, "I am not pleased with the performance of Acomplia" and further reported that total sales of the diet pill amounted to only $30 million in the third quarter of 2007.

On the other hand, after the FDA-approval, non-prescription diet pill Alli (low-dose Xenical) went on sale in the U.S. on June 15th, and it has added up an estimated $150 million. That is far more than weight loss pill Acomplia.

Besides that, Alli (Xenical) has a good safety record, and has shown itself to be moderately effective. But when Alli is taken with a meal containing too much fat, side-effects can include "stools that may be hard to control."

According to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, in the first four months on the market, more than 2 million starter packs of over-the-counter diet pill Alli (low-dose orlistat) have been purchased by U.S. dieters.

Despite of these things, Alli remains top selling weight loss pill, but consumers also agree with the point that Alli is a kind of drug that requires strict adherence to a relatively low-fat diet to avoid experiencing the well-known side-effects.

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