£1-a-day wonder diet pills on sale in months

A slimming pill which is claimed to help women drop a dress size could be available without prescription in a matter of months.

A new slimming drug named Alli, which is claimed to help women lose 50% more weight than through willpower alone, is to be offered over the counter in months.

The drug works out at around £1 per day, and claims to reduce men and women’s weight by five to 10% in four months. Of those studied while taking Alli, around a quarter said that their weight dropped by at least a tenth.

This equates to around a stone in an 11-stone woman.

Diet pills of this type are not usually available over UK counters, and sales are set to be strong.

Sales in the US have hit £75million in just six months and the owners, GlaxoSmithKline, have applied for a license to sell in the UK and are preparing to market the pills this year.

Alli is half as strong as prescription slimming pill Xenical and is intended to work in conjuction with healthy diet and exercise.