Charlotte Lytton examines the recent surge in popularity of Ozempic diabetes shot as a weight loss aid on TikTok and the historical risks associated with using fast-acting diet pills amid a global shortage of the medication.
The latest must-have item on TikTok is the Ozempic diabetes drug, which has been tagged over 350 million times on the app.
Videos show young women smiling as they inject the medication into their stomachs and share their weekly weight loss goals.
Recently, the drug has become available for weight loss without restrictions and can be purchased without a prescription.
The high demand for the drug due to its popularity on social media has led to a global shortage. It has become a go-to weight loss method for celebrities, who reportedly pay $1,500 a month for the drug’s promised weight loss benefits.
Ozempic, also known as semaglutide, is an appetite-regulating hormone mimic that works by creating feelings of fullness.
The drug is administered as a weekly injection and has been found to produce an average reduction of 6-15% in body weight over the course of a year, depending on the strength of the dose.
The drug’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, generated $3.4 billion in revenue from Ozempic in 2020 alone.
Analysts predict sales will further increase to $7.8 billion, especially with the arrival of Wegovy, a 2.4mg version of Ozempic, which has been approved for use by the National Health Service in the UK in early 2023.
Online posts are filled with users sharing how their appetite has decreased and how they are seeing a decrease in weight.
Quick weight loss “fixes” have been around for a long time, but the TikTok effect is expanding its reach at an unprecedented pace.
An investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal earlier this year found that TikTok is the “worst culprit” for spreading medical misinformation to young people on the internet.
GP Simon Gordon says that for obese patients, Ozempic “works well,” and he has seen many of his patients lose a lot of weight and be able to stop their blood pressure medications.
However, while the drug has shown effectiveness, it is important to be cautious about declaring it a weight loss solution, given the problematic history of other weight loss drugs.
Over the past six decades, at least 25 drugs have been approved by medical authorities, only to be banned later due to dangerous side effects such as damaged heart valves, stroke, and primary pulmonary hypertension.
This difficult history is partly why drug companies have not found an easy solution in this market.
With 3.5 billion obese adults worldwide and rates that have tripled since 1975, the fact that only one drug can be prescribed in the UK for weight loss highlights the complexity of this issue.
Between the 1930s and 1960s, there was a significant investment in developing amphetamine-based weight-loss drugs.
One such drug, Tenuate Dospan, was even prescribed to Donald Trump in the 1980s, despite its known side effects of confusion and hallucinations.
Long-term effects of the drug were believed to include psychosis, and short-term effects included anxiety, insomnia, and delusions of grandeur.
This history highlights the persistent concerns about the safety of weight loss drugs, even as recently as 2010 to the present day.
While Ozempic has shown promising results for weight loss in obese patients, it is important to approach the drug with caution, given the problematic history of weight loss drugs.
The surge in popularity of Ozempic on social media platforms like TikTok has led to a global shortage, but it is crucial to remember that weight loss is a complex issue and that there is no easy solution.
It is important to consult with a healthcare professional before considering any weight loss treatment and to be mindful of the potential side effects of any drug.
