A joint advisory committee for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to recommend over-the-counter sales of the prescription weight-loss drug 'Xenical.'

The FDA still needs to give its final approval before GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare can sell the nonprescription version of orlistat, reports The Associated Press

The Food and Drug Administration is considering the weight loss drug, Orlistat, for over-the-counter sales.

"There is no magic pill for weight loss and orlistat is not a magic pill. Orlistat is a tool that will help people control their calorie intake and modify their diet," says GlaxoSmithKline's senior vice president of research and development, John Dent

US health Experts are in talks about making a diet pill similar to prescription powerhouse Xenical, available over the counter, making it the first weight loss drug of its kind to be approved by the FDA in this manner.

A prescription diet drug that blocks the absorption of fat is "no magic pill" but will aid in controlling calorie intake according to the drugs manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline

The Food and Drug Administration will meet Monday to discuss whether or not to allow the sale of orlistat, a GlaxoSmithKline drug that blocks the absorption of fat.

At issue is whether or not the pill creates vitamin deficiencies and encourages abuse in its users

Safety concerns surrounding GlaxoSmithKline's orlistat may prove to be a bigger hurdle to overcome than safety or self-selection issues as the firm pursues a prescription to over-the-counter switch of the drug.

Two Food and Drug Administration advisory committees on Monday are to discuss allowing over-the-counter sales of orlistat, which GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare proposes to market as Alli (pronounced ''ally''). That version would be half the dose of the prescription form of the drug, known as Xenical, which won FDA approval in 1999