Is the Diet Drug Meridia Too Risky?

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Is the Diet Drug Meridia Too Risky?

 

By Daniel DeNoon

WebMD Medical News Archive Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD

 

 

 

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March 22, 2002 -- A watchdog group is calling for the FDA to ban the

diet drug Meridia, noting that the drug has been associated with 29

deaths and hundreds of serious side effects.

 

 

The group Public Citizen is petitioning the FDA to withdraw its

approval of Meridia. It claims that the drug offers only a small

benefit -- at the cost of a serious risk to health.

 

 

Meridia manufacturer Abbott Laboratories admits that at least 32

patients have died while taking the drug. But it points out that

some 9 million people have used the drug in the last five years.