Ozempic and Wegovy could help people quit smoking

The take home is that this product linage acts upon known addictive behavior in a positive manner.  When we typically have nothing, we will take it.

Again unexpected and will now be surely prescribed for addicts.

Any thing that simply lessens the grasp of an addiction allows other therapies a better chance of success.  not a final solution but still an advance..

Ozempic and Wegovy could help people quit smoking

Semaglutide-based medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which can help people lose weight, may also reduce tobacco cravings

By Grace Wade

29 July 2024

Ozempic could treat many more conditions than just type 2 diabetes and obesity

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Another study adds credence to the idea that semaglutide – the drug in medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy – could help treat addiction. Researchers found that people who were prescribed the drug for type 2 diabetes were then less likely to seek medical care for tobacco use than those taking other diabetes medications.

Semaglutide helps treat obesity and type 2 diabetes by mimicking a hormone that reduces appetite and regulates blood sugar levels. Previous research has also linked it to lower rates of cannabis use disorder and alcoholism.

To learn about semaglutide’s effect on tobacco addiction, Rong Xu at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and her colleagues collected data from electronic health records on nearly 223,000 people in the US with type 2 diabetes and tobacco addiction. Nearly 6000 of them had been prescribed semaglutide, while the rest used one of seven other diabetes medications.

The researchers then tracked whether the individuals met with a healthcare provider for any tobacco use or received smoking cessation medications or counselling within a year of starting the medications.

After accounting for variables such as age, sex, race and certain health conditions, the team found that those using semaglutide were less likely to receive any form of tobacco-related healthcare, on average, than those taking other medications. The researchers took this as a probable indication that these individuals had been more successful at quitting smoking.