Meridia Diet Pill

Since the introduction of Meridia diet pill, there have been 29 Meridia deaths, including 19 due to adverse cardiovascular effects associated to the Meridia diet pill. First approved in 1997, one year after the FDA advisory committee voted 5-4 that the benefits of Meridia diet pill did not outweigh the risks, Meridia is available in 70 countries and has been used by 8.5 million people worldwide. Meridia diet pill had received a review from an FDA medical officer concluding that a non-approval was recommended due to the significant increase in blood pressure and heart rate in many people. Despite the opposition from the FDA's own advisory committee and medical officer, Meridia diet pill is still being sold.

This March the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen filed a petition to the FDA to have Meridia diet pill immediately banned. Meridia diet pill has not been suspended, but the FDA is now reviewing the drug's safety implications in response to Public Citizen. Two cardiovascular deaths that occurred in Italy led to the suspension in Meridia diet pill sales, the first safety move of any country since Meridia's arrival. Italy's diet pill safety investigation then led to a Europe-wide review of Meridia diet pill. In France and Great Britain there have been a total of 103 serious sibutramine side effects reported, including two Meridia deaths in Great Britain.

Abbott Laboratories maintains that Meridia diet pill is an overall aid to the risk any obese person has. Studies performed on the diet pill Meridia show that there is an average 6.5 lbs lost in a year's time, and during the second year the majority of people regain the weight and gain the entire weight back if stopping drug use. While Abbott claims that any weight loss can provide an obese patient to decrease the risk of heart disease and death, Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen claims, "There is no evidence that this drug has prolonged the life of a single patient, or reduced the risks of strokes or heart attacks tied to obesity," (WebMD, 3-22-02).

The difference in reported adverse side effects of Meridia diet pill verses the real number of Meridia side effects is estimated to be tenfold higher. The FDA is currently reviewing the safety implications that have been associated with Meridia diet pill in response to Public Citizen's petition. Public Citizen has petitioned for the removal of four other FDA approved drugs since 1996 and three of the drugs ended up being banned and one severely restricted. The end of March introduced the first Meridia lawsuits against Abbott on behalf of the diet pill's patients. If you would like to speak to an expert attorney regarding Meridia diet pill, please contact us.

About Sibutramine (Meridia Diet Pill)
When the FDA approved sibutramine, marketed under the name Meridia, it was intended for the management of obesity. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults are obese, which contributes to the deaths of about 300,000 Americans every year. Sibutramine is supposed to help reduce the amount of food intake, leading to weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss.

Sibutramine diet pill works by suppressing the appetite mainly by inhibiting the reuptake of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin. This diet pill is different from the previous weight loss drug fen phen, which was banned from the market in 1997 after numerous deaths and instances of valvular heart conditions and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) occurred. Sibutramine, unlike the diet pill fen phen, does not contain dexfenfluramine that causes an increase in the release of serotonin from the nerve cell. The FDA recommended any patient taking Meridia diet pill to have regular blood pressure evaluations because the studies indicated that patients taking sibutramine would have increased blood pressure levels and heart rate.