A diet drug that has generated some news is the French drug called “Acomplia Rimonabant.” The anti-obesity drug, an appetite suppressant, was created to help people lose fat by blocking circuitry in the brain that gives the body cravings. The drug works by an entirely new approach by blocking the same primeval circuitry in the brain that gives pot-smokers the munchies. The French firm Sanofi-Synthelabo won approval to market it in the European Union in 2006. It is not yet approved in the US, where it is known as “Zimulti”. A study found that the drug helped people drop 20 pounds in a year. Doctors say the drug is noteworthy because it takes a different approach to helping people overcome their cravings for food. It is the first of a class of medicines that blocks the so-called endocannabinoid system in the central nervous system. Marijuana makes people hungry by stimulating this circuitry. The same biology serves crucial everyday purposes by helping the brain regulate hunger, including alcohol craving. Overeating can overstimulate this system, which in turn causes people to eat and smoke more. By temporarily blocking the body’s ability to receive these signals, experts believe they can return the system to normal. In the larger of the two studies, Dr. Jean-Pierre Despres of Laval University in Quebec City used 1036 volunteers, all with stomachs that put them at high risk for heart problems. They were urged to cut 600 calories/day and given either accomplia or placebos …