[ad_1]
Ozempic is a common drug Used to treat diabetes and aid in weight loss. However, recent research suggests that it may also be helpful for those who want to quit smoking. The active ingredient in this drug, semaglutide (also in the related drug Wegovy), may help smokers quit or reduce their nicotine habits. However, these results are still preliminary, and more research is needed before these drugs can be officially recommended as smoking cessation aids.
One particular study looked at how eight different anti-diabetes drugs affect nicotine addiction, one of which was semaglutide. The researchers closely observed about 223,000 new users of these drugs, including about 6,000 who used semaglutide. They monitored which people sought treatment for tobacco addiction, received a prescription to stop smoking, or attended counseling sessions.
The study showed that people who started using semaglutide were significantly less likely to seek medical help for their smoking problems, get a prescription for smoking cessation medication, or seek professional help to quit smoking than those who used other diabetes medicines such as insulin and metformin. These effects were seen in both obese and non-obese smokers and generally occurred within 30 days of starting semaglutide.
The exact mechanism Ozpik The effects of semaglutide on nicotine addiction are currently unknown. Researchers believe that the drug may interact with the reward system in our brain. Semaglutide mimics a hormone (GLP-1) that our body produces after eating, which makes users feel fuller longer. This may affect cravings for food, alcohol, nicotine, etc.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a co-author of the study, stressed that understanding how semaglutide affects factors such as the number of cigarettes smoked per day, cravings and withdrawal symptoms is key to determining whether the drug can be a useful aid for smokers who want to quit.
The results are indeed very impactful, given that smoking is the largest cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S. Each year, almost one in five new cancer diagnoses and nearly one in three cancer deaths are caused by smoking, according to the CDC. And despite efforts to reduce smoking rates, fewer than one in 10 adult smokers successfully quit within a year.
The study suggests semaglutide could be a new way to help people quit smoking, an area where little progress has been made in recent years. Patients being treated for diabetes tend to be more health-conscious and may start changing habits such as smoking, said Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist and head of obesity medicine at Endeavor Health in Chicago.
However, while these results are encouraging, the use of semaglutide to help quit smoking is discouraged without further research. The authors agree that if these drugs are used to treat nicotine addiction, more research is needed to determine appropriate dosages and potential side effects.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, says its products should only be used in the manner approved by the FDA. While their own clinical trials have not evaluated whether semaglutide can treat tobacco use disorder or related conditions, they have found no causal relationship between semaglutide and misuse or abuse-related conditions from nonclinical, clinical or post-marketing data.
In conclusion, it is fascinating to learn that semaglutide, commonly used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss, may also help people quit smoking. This opens up new opportunities for using GLP-1 drugs to treat addiction-related behaviors. However, caution should be exercised until more research is done to understand its mechanism of action, appropriate dosage, and possible side effects.
In summary, while Ozempic and Wegovy may offer new hope to smokers who want to quit, they can only be used after they are approved by the FDA until there is solid evidence through more research that they are effective in treating nicotine addiction. As medical professionals continue to study these prospects, the possibility of a new and effective smoking cessation treatment remains high.
[ad_2]
Source link
