Xenical Ads Offend

very funny comeback to "julie's story"....ha ha! Now that I know what the ads are for I am perturbed...they talk about losing a few pounds like it's a simple thing - the truth is that Orlistat is a prescription drug that is very expensive and must be used constantly (I ought to know) - it was never designed for the loss of "a few pounds" - last year they tried a new tack where it was positioned as an aversion therapy because the reactions to fat were so drastic - I guess Julie is this years' story!

Mandi Lowthian Smith
MARCH 23, 2004 = 182 LBS
MARCH 8, 2005 - 157 LBS - THANKS TO KILLER CARDIO, WEIGHT WATCHERS, A TRAINER, AND YES, ORLISTAT

How nice to find out what those ads are all about! I was trying to find out on the web and came on this site by accident. Funny that the manufacturer of xenical won't even expalin themselves in public - only through physicians.
Now as far as xenical goes - I am a fan of the aversion effect (kind of like Antabuse for alcohol)- if you eat that piece of cheese cake after taking xenical - you will leak! How is that for aversion.

It is disgusting to be taught that the only reason to enjoy one's body is because there is less of it.
Pray that all the other stories, besides Julie's, will come out so that people know beauty is not in forcing yourself to become something else or deciding that you cannot change, but in finding peace in relationships with other people, with animals, with the Earth, with the unknown, and with yourself...

I just wanted to explain that in Canada it is illegal to advertise prescription drugs, so drug companies resort to these types of campaigns asking you to talk to your doctor.

I'm in no way defending the ads, I just wanted to make it clear why they seem so evasive.

I found this site because I wondered what drug "Julie's Story" is advertising, and I knew a U.S. based site would have that info. Thanks for your help!

In response to Liz: It is not illegal to advertise prescription drugs in Canada. There are at least 3 others that are being run on TV such as: Zoloft, Viagra, Zyban but at least you know what they are advertising. Julie's story is pure manipulation.

I am a young mom of a toddler. Being 24 and still fighting the baby fat around my waist, this commericial made me more self aware of my love handles. The woman in the commercial standing on the scale is beautiful and slender, this made me feel insecure and curious about the "julie story" i found this website while trying to investegate this "wonder drug". Crazy world we live in, people make drugs that claim perfection, and we fall for it.

I don't care what society thinks of my weight. I care.
I would love to put on a pair of pants and feel comfortable without my stomach hanging over my belt and the waistband bent over.
Obesity is a health issue that's costs us money. I've just started Xenical, and yeah, the first two days the side affects were embarrassing and inconvenient. But, I'm now watching my diet and not eating fatty foods, which is a first in many years.

It's like those ads for Levitra too...they show a REALLY happy guy walking around and his wife just beaming. And from that, you know it's an erectile drug. Or you ask your doctor how you can be that guy. I think prescription medications to lose weight are sometimes necessary for some people, but the aversion effect seems to be a good side effect. What better way to get people to avoid pizza than a pill that will give you "uncontrolable bowel movements?" If that's the route people choose to take, go for it.

Tanya, you are probably seeing those ads being run on US channels. I think Liz is right.

If you've ever tried this drug you'll know why they don't explain themselves in the ad. After a short while it got to the point I was bringing extra underwear to work with me...I felt more self conscience about continually having orange stains on my clothes and smelling like poo to worry about my few extra pounds. This method of weight-loss rates up there with shaving one's head with a cheese grater while chewing on tin foil. Save your money and get a gym membership.

It is legal to advertise the drugs, but the deal is this: if the company states its name AND tells what the drug does, exactly, it is legally required to list the side effects right then and there. That's why the ads are so evasive.

I thought that in Canada, drugs ads can either tell you the name of the drug, OR what it does, but not both. Which is why you see all these happy people and then the name Viagra, but they never tell you what Viagra does. In the case of the Julie story, they tell you it's a weight loss program, so they can't tell you the name of the drug. Strange if you ask me.

I guess I have fell victim just like the rest of you. My curiousity led me to this site. Although, I do know one thing .. if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The best weight management advice??? Eat well, drink plenty of water and be active! Simple, but true. The sooner we all figure out that most of us need a lifestyle change and not a diet, the happier we will be. Good luck in finding this happiness.

You said it Sarafeena! None of the magic pills or potions work unless you make a lifestyle change!

It's so sad that the whole of North America is so focused on weight or the excess of it. More inportant is the health of overweight people. Not every overweight person is suffering from some horrible lifethreating illness as we are led to believe from countless weight loss products. Is it really better to smell like poo than be heavy? I'd think people would be less likely to be around a stinker than a fatty. Maybe I'm wrong.