Balancing the Scales: The Ongoing Debate Over Meridia

photo-1Over the past 20 years, the American public has waged an unsuccessful war against expanding waist lines. Although fad diets continue to come and go like passing seasons and the dietary supplement business has become a multi-billion dollar industry, the number of overweight and obese individuals in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions.

In the past decade, the manufacturers of prescription diet drugs have faced litigious battles with consumers who claim that their products have caused injuries and, in some cases, death. In October 1999, American Home Products, who manufactured Pondomin (fenfluramine) and marketed Redux (dexfenfluramine) for Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, …