The Department of Health has approved the ground-breaking weight-loss pill Orlistat.
But a Hong Kong spokesman for the manufacturer said the pills would not be launched for a few months and sold as a prescription drug only.
Orlistat is manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche and marketed as Xenical.
The pills can block absorption of fats by a third. Clinical studies showed patients using the pills for six to eight months would lose one-tenth of their weight.
But slimmers taking the weight-loss pills face embarrassing side-effects, including flatulence and even incontinence, an expert has warned.
Associate professor of pharmacy at the Chinese University Kenneth Lee Kwing-chin said Xenical was the first slimming medicine using an 'enzyme inhibitor' theory.
