If you have not one, but two demons to fight, Acomplia has been marketed as the wonder prescription drug that could help you to quit smoking and lose weight or at least avoid gaining weight, at the same time. Sanofi Aventis, a company responsible for drugs such as Ambien and Allegra, has also produced this product. By no means have they claimed to melt away the pounds without work from you. But then again, even with anti smoking patches or pills, you could technically smoke anyway. It takes some will power and work on your part no matter what.
But you may wonder, if this drug comes from such a great company and it has been proven, as we would assume prescriptions would be, to promote the benefits they claim, why wouldn’t we have this wonder drug in the United States? Why wouldn’t everybody want to take it? Yes, that is a good question, especially for those who believe mainly in FDA approved options or essentially prescriptions. After all, you have your doctor to watch over possible interactions and other problems.
Though Rimonabant or Acomplia claims to reduce appetite, and control weight, metabolism, and energy use, the studies haven’t actually supported magnanimous claims. If anything, it was shown to have a greater effect on smoking, if any effect at all in either case. It was supposed to work by targeting the brain’s mechanisms of addiction.
Acomplia was first introduced in the UK, and it was extremely popular in that area. However, at some point, Sanofi Aventis found themselves still waiting for the American FDA’s approval on this particular drug. At least one researcher, Dr Charles O’Brien, an addiction expert at the University of Pennsylvania, even suggested at some point that Acomplia could possibly fight addictions to harder drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.
But before they could obtain FDA approval, some rather unpleasant facts concerning Acomplia cam to light. It was even speculated that Sanofi Aventis had actually hidden these studies to keep marketing the drug. After all, there is a lot of time and money invested in the making of any prescription drug. There was at least one official report of a suicide involved with Acomplia, and many others had reported suicidal thoughts and severe depression. There were also reports of greatly increased anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, greater susceptibility to eating disorders, and various other side effects. After some of the more severe reports, Acomplia was banned in the UK, never approved by the FDA, and subsequently discontinued by Sanofi Aventis.