if a woman of child bearing age takes qnexa, they are supposed to be on birth control.here will likely be pregnancies on this pill. >> is this designed for people who are morbidly obese? >> it is designed for people who are obese. doctors are supposed to give it to people who are obese or overweight and have problems like blood pressure or high cholesterol. that's the really interesting point. that's who it's supposed to go to. we know from history with other diet pills that doctors will prescribe it to people who want to lose five pounds to look good at their high school reunion. and that's not supposed to happen because you're not supposed to risk these side effects just to lose five pounds. but doctors can do what we want and we know from fast experience they will. >> elizabeth cohen, live in atlanta, thanks very much. >> having a healthy diet and good fitness is always hard but it's really hard when you're traveling and on the road constantly. you grab whatever is easy at the airport or hotel, but i'm told with planning and will power, you can keep your waistline in

to date fda is deciding whether to approve qnexa. it combines an appetite suppressant and anti-seizure medication that is shown to aid in weight loss. critics worry the side effects can cause increased heart rates and birth defects. but an fda panel cleared the way for approval earlier this year based on new data saying that the benefits outweigh the risks. qnexa is the second weight loss drug approved since 1999. another drug got approval just last month. >>> and the fda also banned the controversial chemical bpa from baby bottles and sippy cups today. manufacturers had already started making bottles without bpa. the chemical industry requested the ban and hopes this ruling will curb years of negative publicity from consumer groups and keep tougher laws that would ban bpa from other types of packaging. >>> stay right there. we're just getting started on news 4. dramatic scene caught on video. the story of a girl's three story plunge and the hero bus driver who saved her life. >> and how a fan with a kafs bieber managed to get up clo

the fda cleared a pill named qnexa. patient lost up to 10% of their body weight. the drug was rejected in 2010. but based on new data this year the fda decided the benefits outweigh the risks. >>> next high drama outside a new york city high-rise after a girl falls 30 feet out of a wane doe and survives. >>> a neighborhood goes to extreme against the birds. >>> the couple in this picture has come forward sort of. >>> and a toddler's tantrum goes viral. >>> scary moments in new york city after a car fell five stories down an elevator shaft. a parking attendant was driving a car into the elevator but the car wasn't there. the attendant driving the car and another one working on a lower level were both hurt but expected to recover. >>> a new york citys but driver is living proof you can be at the right place at the right time. he heard a scream and ran over and saw a girl standing on a third floor air conditioner. he threw out his arms and caught the girl as she fell. >> you were the only one with the presence of mind to stand beneath that. >> i have a seven-year-old

one of the ingredients is something called qnexa.-fen is they were causing heart defects. that was taken off the market. can we expect the same problems with this drug. >> that's not such a drug. it was the phentermine that was the safe half. i want to talk about birth defects for a minute. meg didn't worry about that because she wasn't of childbearing age when she took the pill. when stla had children have seen an increased risk of cleft lip and cleft palate. >> what's fascinating is one of things we were talking about is that you are encouraged to be on birth control while taking this weight loss pill. >> right it's more than just encouragement. it's we're going to give you this pill but you'll have to be on birth control. they told the women to go on birth control but still a couple of thousand women they had 34 pregnancies so either the women didn't listen or the birth control failed. the fda really looked at this hard while considering this drug. >> meg, one of the interesting things is when we were talking to meg earlier and th

safety concerns prompted the food and drug administration to warn against qnexa in 2010. concerns included a risk of speeding heart rates and possible birth defects. the fda is expected to grant approval today based on new data. dr. nancy snyderman reports more about the risks right after this broadcast. >>> a local animal shelter is hoping that olympic fever will help therapy find loving homes for lots of animals. the fairfax county animal shelter kicked off the olympics event today. it is xind to help find new owners for dozens of dogs, cats, even birds and other small animal. to help the shelter is running adoption specials now through august 11th. including a two for one special on adopting kittens. >> who would go for that? shelter will also spay or neuter every adopted pet for free during the promotion. you want a rabb it? >> no thanks. >> pass on that in our households. >> even better three for one. >> two kittens and a rabbit. >> there you go. >> dan is sporting his new preolympic hair cut. he has a preview wlaf is coming up. >> yeah, from animals to nationals. we

it is a daily bill called qnexa. and abc's chief medical expert dr.ichard besser is here to tell us about it. does it work? >> bottom line it does. this is the first thing we've had to offer people in ten years between weight watchers and surgery. it's a combination of two drugs. one, it's a stimulant medication which is going to decrease your appetite. the other is a anti-seizure drug which has as a side effect weight loss. put them together, on average, people lost 10% of their weight. >> what about other side effects? are there risks? >> well, there are some risks here. two years ago, the fda looked at this, and they did not approve it. they were concerned about memory loss, they were concerned about confusion, increased heart rate and birth defects. so, clearly, it isn't for women who are pregnant. but, you know, the doctors felt that the side effects of obesity were far greater than the side effects here. and it's something that we can now offer to patients. >> and this will be a big headline. thanks so much, rich. >>> as we told you last night,

let's talk about qnexa. how does it work? >> it's a combination of two drugs.on of phentermine and then an anti-seizure medication that people use for migraines and epilepsy. one is an appetite suppressant and the other one sort of works on the brain to change appetite centers. >> once you take it, it suppresses your appetite and does it work? >> yeah. you know, i talked to someone who took it and she said it was pretty amazing. she had to remind herself to eat. usually she loves chocolate chip cookies. and when she was on the pill, she could go, ah, i'll pass on it. i personally have never said ah, to a chocolate chip cookie, but that's what she said it felt like. and now let me give you the numbers. on average, the people who they studied weighed 227 pounds. when they were on it, they lost weight down to 204 pounds. that's a 23-pound loss. and they kept it off for two years. >> how long did they take it? >> the people on it took it for two years. you take it every day. >> so we know how phenphenturned out. not so good, right? >> not so good. >> what makes us

elizabeth cohen will join us to talk about qnexa. >> our get real this morning, would the new york knicks be linsane to let jeremy lin walk? deadline day is today and we'll discuss that straight ahead. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. with lean cuisine steam bags. get our crispiest carrots and our snappiest peas all freshly steamed in just minutes. steam bags from lean cuisine. be culinary chic. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this r

. >> there is a drug out there the second one out, qnexa. they say it's for people who are obese. it's supposed to make you full and supposed to make you drop 6% to 9% of your body weight. >> yes. >> so it suppresses your appetite and -- >> makes you feel full already. >> you still have to diet and exercise. the thing i have with all those pills is, i don't stop eating because i'm full. you just eat because that's what you do. i mean -- >> i had a dog like that once. chablis. >> do you see what i have to deal with, all four of you? >> the other dogs finish -- >> why are we talking about dogs? we're talking about people dieting and why they eat. >> but most people stop when they're full. >> no, they don't. most people don't stop when they're full. most people eat the rest of the potato chip bag because it's there. >> we'd love to hear from you. apparently we have 340,000 that talk to us on facebook. >> yes, we do. we've got to beat the first hour's. they're up to a million. >> the "today" show has a million facebook likes. there's a big foam thumb that everyone is passing around. w

the pill was formally called qnexa and in clinical trials patients on the drug lost up to 10% of theirody weight. the fda rejected the drug in 2010 because of worries over increased heart rates and possible birth defects, but based on new data this year, the fda decided the benefits outweighed the risks. they approved another weight loss drug, you may remember, just last month. >>> there are new safety concerns about two of the con's most popular suvs. the national highway traffic safety administration is looking into potential problems with the throttle on late-model ford escapes and tributes. it received 100 complaints about sticky throttles. the issue may have been a factor in more than a dozen crashes. one person even died in one of those accidents. the safety agency is focusing on suvs from the 2001 to 2004 model years that have v6 engines. >>> u.s. builders broke ground on the most new homes and apartments in nearly four years last month. we'll check in with cnbc bertha coombs on that. she joins us with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. bertha, good morni

what is the deal with this new drug called qnexa? am i saying that right?ou are saying it right. >> so let's talk about how the drug works, how does it make you feel, what do we know about it? >> this is a drug that we expect might get an approval from the fda today. i think this is going to be a drug that a lot of people will be hearing a lot more about. so, let's talk about how much weight you lose. that's what everyone wants to know. they don't care how it works. they want to know how much am i going to lose. >> what's it going to do for me? in the studies they did it on obese people. they started on average 227 pounds, went down to 204 pounds. they also did, you know, they were counselled to eat well and exercise and all that and they kept that weight off for two years. so that's a pretty significant weight loss. that's actually more than you see with some other diet pills. >> what exactly is in it and do we know if it's safe? i mean, are these pills ever 100% safe? >> right. let's talk about what's in it for a minute. remember fen fen. >> and the peopl

q sim ya, formerly called qnexa.ncreased heart rate and birth defects are side effects. >> welcome to our team this morning. richard, nice to see you. >> how are you? >> writer for new yorker.com. >> do i owe you money? >> somebody owes me some money. >> we'll talk about that later. >> you've forgotten about that. >> kind of the biggest supreme court decision. >> i thought you antied up? >> richard nailed it. got to give him credit. i was mocked that day for betting as i did. you laughed at me. >> i did. i won't deny it and i laughed at the quid itch people and i apologize. i owe you adollar let's move on. margaret hoover, nice to have you, i can't speak today. will cain for theblaze.com. welcome. our get real this morning is something we've covered like 100,000 times. investigators who are wrapping up their investigation for sheriff joe arpaio in arizona have now finished their probe into the president's birth certificate. and they say it's definitely fraudulent. people, people. >> as we suspect, it is a fraudulent