“I have had a weight problem my entire life and have yet to find anything besides good old-fashioned exercise [that works] and most of the time that doesn’t do much either.”

“I am at least 50 pounds overweight. No matter how much I try it is impossible to lose weight.”

“I am interested in losing 30 pounds and have been trying so hard, but nothing seems to keep it off.”

These and other personal stories filled WebMD’s email boxes in response to a recent news article, titled “Experimental Diet Drug Acomplia Has Staying Power,” about a new weight loss drug called rimonabant. The article generated far more responses than any other WebMD news report in recent memory, including those about weight loss and about other promising drugs.

The medication, also known as Acomplia, is still being tested and isn’t on the market. Yet reports about the drug’s possible benefits — which include not only suppressing appetite but also curbing the urge to smoke and improving cholesterol and blood sugar levels — have many WebMD users clamoring for it. “When can I go on this new great drug?” asked one. “I’m overweight and need help fast!”

The answer is that the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, plans to apply for FDA approval in 2005. A decision by the agency will then take up to 10 months. If everything proceeds smoothly and the FDA gives its blessing, the drug could be on the U.S. market sometime in 2006. The company also hopes to get approval to sell the drug in Europe beginning in 2006.

Plenty of things can hold up or derail drug approvals, though, including concerns about safety, a subject that many WebMD users asked about. So far the main side effects seem to be nausea and dizziness, which were bothersome enough to cause some people participating in studies to drop out. What’s more, no one yet knows what risks the medication might pose with long-term use, which appears necessary to keep weight off.

Another common question was how to volunteer for studies. The manufacturer says none is open to new participants.

Few users asked what is perhaps the most important question: Is this really the miracle pill that many news reports have portrayed it to be? Known as a cannabinoid type I (CB1) blocker, it’s the first of an entirely new class of drugs, which works by blocking a pleasure center in the brain. From the standpoint of researchers, the drug is clearly a breakthrough.

But from the standpoint of people trying to lose weight, it’s something less. Researchers report that people taking the drug for two years lost an average of 19 pounds and 3 inches off their waists, compared with about 5 pounds and 1.5 inches among those who took a placebo. A benefit for sure, but hardly a miracle.

It’s worth remembering that the two drugs currently approved for weight loss, Meridia (sibutramine) and Orlistat (xenical), were also once hailed by the media and others as answers to obesity. But they ended up having much more modest effects. And then there’s the drug combination of fenfluramine and phentermine, known as fen-phen. Frenzy over fen-phen swept the U.S. until researchers discovered that the drug combo was causing heart valve problems. As a result, fenfluramine and its cousin Redux, another weight loss drug, were pulled off the market.

Rimonabant, perhaps in combination with other drugs, may in fact prove to be a useful tool in the fight against obesity and its adverse health effects. But it’s not going to be the magic bullet that many users are evidently hoping for. Their overwhelming response to the WebMD article is a reminder of how difficult and frustrating the battle with weight often is. We owe it to them not to give false hope that a pill — however promising — is the answer to their prayers.

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