Drugs used for weight loss help people stop smoking, study finds
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, can help people lose weight — and a new study says it may also help people quit smoking.
In the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, researchers found semaglutide was associated with lower risks for tobacco use disorder-related health care measures, including reduced smoking cessation medication prescriptions and counseling.
The study compared 222,942 new users of anti-diabetes medications, including including semaglutide and seven others. Participants had both Type 2 diabetes and tobacco use disorder and, according to the findings, mostly showed differences within 30 days of starting the prescription when comparing the groups.
While it's too early to suggest prescribing the drugs for smoking cessation, the findings suggest the need for more research to evaluate semaglutide's potential for tobacco use disorder treatment.
This isn't the first time an association has been noted between drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss and reduced cravings for things like smoking. Some doctors and patients have seen diminished cravings for nicotine, alcohol and even opioids as a unexpected side effect.
Why are researchers and patients seeing this? It has to do with how drugs like Ozempic work with the reward centers in the brain, Dr. Tamika Henry, founder of the California-based Unlimited Health Institute, previously told CBS News.
"When we think about the reward centers, it releases dopamine, which is our feel-good hormone. So what happens is, when you do a certain activity, dopamine surges - and you're like, 'Oh, I want to keep doing that,' whether that's indulging in alcohol, nicotine or even gambling," she said. "How Ozempic works is, it decreases the surge of dopamine, and therefore the desire for that particular activity is decreased."
However, the risk of negative side effects is also a factor to consider with these drugs, including for uses beyond weight loss.
"As you're thinking about decreasing an addiction, yes, you want to do that, but is there also going to be some association with nausea? Are you also going to have problems with heartburn, fatigue?" Henry said. "The other thing is taking a medication is just part of it. You need to start to do the other things that help you along the way. Because if the medication is removed, then what happens?"