I mentioned the other day that I am keeping an eye on Nutrisystem Inc (NTRI) as a potential investment and in doing so have learned that the stock has taken a bit of a beating lately because of the introduction of a revolutionary new diet pill named Alli that was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and is causing some competition. Alli is the first and only FDA approved diet pill and can been seen in pallet displays at Wal-Mart and other mainstream retailers.

Now Nutrisystem may be hurting temporarily while this new pill takes the industry by storm and curious overweight individuals decide to give it a try. But upon reading the MANY personal horror stories of so-called “treatment effects”, something everyone else in the industry calls side-effects, I think many people will be turning to Nutrisytem, it’s being advertised everywhere you look these days, as an alternative that doesn’t cause “oily spotting” or “stools that may be hard to control.”

Here is a screenshot of the warnings on the box that Alli is sold in. And in case you can’t decipher all that jargon on the box, here is a translation put into layman’s terms (and it’s quite humorous as well). The bottom line is that I don’t think people will continue purchasing a diet pill that warns you should “wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work.” I’m not making this up people.

Nutrisystem has done a fantastic job of plastering their name everywhere lately, television, internet, and magazine, so some of these Alli users that get sick of the “treatment effects” will surely begin moving to Nutrisystem over the next several months.

[tags]nutrisystem, alli, glaxosmithkline, shaun carter, treatment effects, side effects, diet pill, lose weight, investing, wal-mart[/tags]