Patients on weight loss medications are reporting a decreased desire to consume alcohol and tobacco.
Michael McCluskey, a 59-year-old citizen of Nova Scotia, Canada, told The Wall Street Journal that he had been a “heavy drinker” and struggled with obesity. However, since beginning to take Ozempic, he has lost not only 120 pounds but also his desire to consume alcohol regularly.
“It just sort of clicked off,” said McCluskey, according to the WSJ.
Tina Zarpour from San Diego, 46, also reported that since she began taking Wegovy, she finds it difficult to finish alcoholic drinks to the point of feeling repelled by them, according to The New York Times.
Ashlee Wright, a Utah resident, told Insider that her desire to smoke has subsided since she began to take Ozempic.
The Hunter Medical Research Institute reported that the active ingredient found in Wegovy and Ozempic, semaglutide, works so well for weight loss because of its ability to induce satiation and “suppress” one’s desire to eat by mimicking a hormone known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
GLP-1 medications have already proven very successful at helping people battle obesity, one of the biggest problems facing our nation, particularly in DFW. Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy have reportedly reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Now, scientists believe that GLP-1 medications like semaglutide may prove helpful in treating addiction.
“We’re talking about a class of medications that could have efficacy in treating a variety of addictions: cocaine, opioids, nicotine, alcohol, all different addictive drugs with very different pharmacology,” said Heath Schmidt, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and School of Medicine, according to the WSJ.
Anders Fink-Jensen, co-author of a study measuring the effect GLP-1 medications had on alcohol addiction in 2022, told Medscape that he hopes such medications can be used to combat addiction.
“I hope that GLP-1 analogs in the future can be used against [alcoholism], but before that can happen, several GLP-1 trials [are needed to] prove an effect on alcohol intake,” said Jensen, according to Medscape.
It appears that multiple potential addiction-dampening drugs may be on the horizon: Researchers recently reported success in a clinical trial using a new drug to treat cannabis addiction, as reported by The Dallas Express.
