A multi-purpose drug called Accomplia, that can help slimmers, smokers and those with other cravings such as alcohol, could be on sale in the US and Europe by next year.

The drug which works by blocking the process in the brain that regulates hunger and other cravings. Trials have shown that the drug cuts bodyweight by up to 10 per cent over a year and doubles the success of smokers who try to stop.

The new pill has the potention to help the millions who are overweight – more than half the adult population.

Accomplia is made by the French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis which is applying for licences to market it early in 2006 in Europe and the U.S.

Results from a clinical trial published today in The Lancet medical journal show that taking a daily 20mg pill of Accomplia resulted in 40 per cent of overweight patients losing 10 per cent of their bodyweight.