Weight-loss jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy could also help you quit smoking, scientists find
WEIGHT-loss injections could help people quit smoking, a study suggests.
It’s one of many benefits to have come out of the jabs which were originally made to treat type 2 diabetes.
Researchers found evidence that people who had started using semaglutide, the active ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy, were less keen on cigarettes within a month.
It may mean that people can kick the habit without the feared side effect of weight gain.
It comes after reports of patients on the drugs having a lower desire to smoke after being treated.
Semaglutide is a synthetic version of the naturally occurring hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) which reduces appetite.
In the UK, Ozempic is only approved to treat type 2 diabetes, but has side effects of weight loss.
Wegovy is approved for weight loss as a prescribed medicine.
The study included some 223,000 people who had type 2 diabetes and ‘tobacco use disorder’, some of whom also had obesity.
Nearly 6,000 had been newly prescribed semaglutide, which was compared against seven other anti-diabetes medications, including metformin and insulins.
Those using semaglutide were less likely to be prescribed smoking cessation medication or counselling than patients on other diabetes drugs over a year period.
This, the researchers suggest, indicates that semaglutide shows promise as a potential tool for quitting smoking.
How to quit smoking
The NHS recommends you:
- List your reasons to quit
- Tell people you’re quitting
- If you have tried to quit before, remember what worked
- Use stop smoking aids like nicotine patches, sprays, gum and lozenges or nicotine vapes – ask a pharmacist for advice
- Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke
- List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them
- Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy
- Exercise away the urge
- Get support – find your local Stop Smoking Service, enlist the help of friends or join a Facebook Group
But they admit it could also reflect a reduced willingness to seek help to quit smoking.
They also did not collect data on actual cigarette use, such as how many cigarettes those on the meds used per day, cravings or relapses.
Early studies suggest that GLP-1 receptors modulate the brain’s reward systems so that smoking is less pleasurable, the researchers wrote in their paper.
They add: “Clinical anecdotes that patients treated with semaglutide reported reduced desire to smoke have attracted attention about its potential benefit for smoking cessation.”
Studies on rodents have so far suggested the treatment could work for nicotine and cocaine addiction.
Other scientists are looking into its effects on alcohol addiction after people given GLP-1 drugs for diabetes reported reductions in their booze consumption.
It comes after research has given hope that fat jabs could be useful to treat sleep apnoea, ward of Alzheimer’s and boost fertility.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
Despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.”