Topline
Novo Nordisk’s weight loss and diabetes drug semaglutide—the drug in branded medications like Wegovy and Ozempic—may help people quit smoking, new research published Monday suggests, adding to evidence the wildly popular drugs could also help treat addiction as companies eye new markets amid growing reports GLP-1 drugs could be applied to a diverse array of conditions like heart disease, dementia and sleep apnea.
Ozempic could potentially help people quit smoking, researchers said.
Key Facts
Smokers with type 2 diabetes using semaglutide were less likely to require medical care linked to tobacco use than those using other diabetes drugs, according to the peer reviewed study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and the National Institute on Drug Abuse investigated semaglutide’s impact on tobacco addiction compared to seven other diabetes medications by analyzing data from U.S. electronic health records of nearly 223,000 people who started using the drugs between late 2017 and early 2023.
Semaglutide was associated with a “significantly lower risk for medical encounters” for care related to tobacco addiction, formally described as “tobacco use disorder” (TUD), the researchers said.
Compared to patients using drugs like insulin, metformin and even other medicines in the same GLP-1 drug class as semaglutide, and accounting for factors like age, sex and other health conditions, the researchers found patients using Ozempic were less likely to be diagnosed with TUD, as well as less likely to receive smoking cessation counseling or be prescribed medications to help them quit.
The findings do not definitively show that people taking semaglutide had been more successful at quitting smoking—semaglutide users may have been less likely to seek medical care or help to quit smoking, for instance—but the researchers said the reduction in care for TUD and related health issues suggested semaglutide users had been more successful at quitting.
As an observational study, there is also no iron-clad proof semaglutide was responsible for the apparent reduction in smoking seen and the researchers said their findings should be followed up with more rigorous clinical trials to investigate whether Ozempic and Wegovy could be used to help people quit tobacco.
How Can Glp-1 Drugs Like Ozempic And Wegovy Help Treat Addiction?
There is no definitive evidence GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide can help treat addiction. But there have been increasing reports they have helped people curb addictive behavior for things like drinking, smoking tobacco, cannabis, other drugs like cocaine, skin picking, gambling and even shopping and nail biting. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly—which produces diabetes and weight loss blockbusters Mounjaro and Zepbound (brand names for tirzepatide)—are actively exploring the potential anti-addiction properties of the drugs, which mimic a gut hormone involved in regulating hunger and blood sugar. It is not clear why GLP-1s appear to dial down addictive behavior, or even proven that they do, and their full mechanism for inducing weight loss is not fully understood. The drugs appear to induce weight loss by delaying the emptying of the stomach, making people feel fuller for longer, and reducing cravings for food as well. Researchers speculate that by targeting areas of the brain involved in controlling the desire for food they may also target other desire pathways as well, pathways that are often hijacked by addictive substances or behaviors and play a major role in addiction.
Big Number
480,000. That’s how many deaths cigarette smoking causes each year in the U.S., according to the CDC, nearly one in five of all deaths.
Surprising Fact
More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the U.S., the CDC says.
Further Reading
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
