The drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have been all over the news because they help people lose weight. Now, researchers are studying the potential impact they could have on alcoholism and other addictive behaviors.
“We are seeing a decrease in impulsive behaviors in patients,” said Dr. Rocío Salas-Whalen, an endocrinologist. “Initially it was for food, but we are seeing it for other types of impulses such as alcohol and tobacco.”
The drugs work by suppressing a person’s appetite and essentially rewiring the reward system in our brain for food and other cravings, such as alcohol, Salas-Whalen explained.
“Let’s say you’re going to have a glass of wine and anticipate feeling relaxed and social. The drug stops that, so whatever you’re looking for as a kind of reward or anticipating a reward, stops it, so the behavior changes,” he said.
WOMAN WHO TAKES DRUGS TO LOSE WEIGHT DESCRIBE REDUCED DESIRE FOR ALCOHOL AND ONLINE SHOPPING
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lisa Robillard is a first-time mom who took weight-loss medication as part of a clinical trial. She had a diagnosis of chronic obesity, which she had faced since childhood. With the medication, she lost 60 pounds, started leaving food on her plate, and noticed that her drinking habits changed as well.
“I just don’t have that desire. I think that I will drink a glass of wine; before I might have had two or three, (now) one is fine or half a glass is fine. Something in my head says, ‘That’s good. You’ve had enough,’” she said.
Robillard, 56, said she’s also noticed changes in her online shopping habits.
“I’ll put it on my wish list and then forget about it and come back in a week and be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t really need that,'” she said. “The compulsive nature of my personality and my behavior have changed.”
Online, other people taking Ozempic or Wegovy have said that alcohol disgusts them or that they have lost the desire to smoke or gamble. The owner of an article in The Atlantic asked, “Did scientists accidentally invent an addiction drug?”
The answer is still not clear.
WHAT RESEARCHERS ARE LEARNING ABOUT WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR
At the National Institutes of Health, researchers found that the active compound in Ozempic and Wegovy reduced alcohol consumption in rats.
“Those particular medications can decrease alcohol seeking. However, I have to say that we don’t know anything about how this works in humans, and humans are much more complicated than laboratory rodents,” explained Dr. Domenica Rubino.
Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine are delving into humans, studying this class of drugs and their potential efficacy as a treatment for alcohol addiction as part of an ongoing clinical trial.
Doctors, including Rubino, caution that weight-loss drugs should not be used for off-label purposes.
“If you have problems with alcohol, gambling or addictive behavior, you need to get professional help and not just try to find these drugs. We have to study these things so that people are sure,” he said.
In a statement to News4, Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, said the drugs are not indicated for the treatment of addiction-related conditions. They said they are not currently studying these drugs for substance use disorders or addiction-related illnesses.
But other researchers are doing it. At UNC, the scientists said they are in two Phase 2 clinical trials: one related to alcohol and one related to cigarettes.
