Sales of diet pill alli (low-dose Xenical) totaled a surprising $156 million in the weeks after its launch in mid-June and are "exceeding expectations," according to manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.

John Clarke, Glaxo's head of consumer business, conceded that the figure includes some stockbuilding by the stores that carry the diet pill, but said an estimated 60 percent of sales (or roughly $90 million worth of alli) had reached the consumer.

If most of those sales were to people initially buying a one-month supply of the over-the-counter diet pill, the sales figure would suggest that more than 1 million Americans decided to try the first FDA-approved non-prescription weight-loss product in its first weeks on the market.

Glaxo, in announcing sales results for alli as part of its report on second-quarter earnings, said its big advertising and promotion campaign paid off with more than 2.4 billion media mentions since the FDA approved sale of the diet pill in February.

Glaxo also said that it had recorded more than 4.5 million visits to its website -- myalli.com -- making it the third-most visited website for any over-the-counter pharmaceutical product.

While a number of overweight individuals have emailed us expressing disappointment at how little weight they lost, complaining that the price is pretty steep, and also voicing dismay over the side-effects, Glaxo contended that on the whole "early consumer satisfaction is positive."

It said that of those who signed up to become pre-launch users of the diet pill, "84 percent continued usage at week 10."

"Initial sales are exceeding expectations, but it is still early," the company said in its financial presentation.