Public Citizen Group has filed a petition, Monday, with Food and Drug Administration asking health officials to ban the prescription version of fat-blocking drug orlistat, citing a link to what some scientists believe are precancerous lesions in the large intestine.

The petition asks for the removal of the drug from the market, sold by Roche since 1999 under the brand name Xenical

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

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