A growing set of evidence suggests that using semaglutide could lead to decreased substance use, and a large new study shows a promising link between the medication and tobacco use. But experts emphasize that much more research is needed before using the medications off-label for smoking cessation.
In a published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers tracked the medical records of more than 200,000 people who started medications to treat type 2 diabetes, including nearly 6,000 people using semaglutide medications such as Ozempic.
Over the course of a year, people who started using semaglutide were significantly less likely to have medical encounters for tobacco use disorders, prescriptions for medications for smoking cessation or counseling for smoking cessation than those who started other diabetes medications such as insulin and metformin.
The study authors note that the reasons individuals might be less likely to seek medical treatment for tobacco use disorder vary widely; it could suggest that their tobacco use decreased or that they’ve become less willing to seek help to quit smoking, for example.
There might be a mix of medication-driven and patient-driven change, said Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist and director of obesity medicine at Endeavor Health in Chicago, who was not involved in the new research.
“If I have a patient with type 2 diabetes who is on one of these agents and they do have a history of smoking, oftentimes, our visits involve a conversation about tobacco cessation,†she said. “These folks might start paying special attention to their long-term health and changing some habits because they are being treated for diabetes.â€
Also, the new study did not measure the severity of tobacco use, such as the number of cigarettes consumed per day, cravings or withdrawal.
The injectable drug Ozempic is shown Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Understanding how semaglutide affects these factors is “crucial†to determining whether the medications could be used for smoking cessation, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a co-author of the new report. Also, more work would be needed to understand appropriate dosage and adverse effects before using the blockbuster drugs in new way, she said.
But other early research suggests that semaglutide and other GLP-1 medications could interact with the brain’s reward system in a way that helps modulate cravings, whether for food, nicotine, alcohol or other drugs.
“The main driver of why many of us overeat relates to those reinforcing positive responses that we get from eating certain foods. And it’s the same circuit for foods as for drugs,†Volkow said.
Although key questions remain, Volkow said she is struck by how consistent the findings have been when it comes to the relationship between semaglutide use and decreased substance use – across different substances and among different patient groups. The new study found similar links among those with and without obesity.
“A signal like this one cannot be ignored, particularly because of how consequential it could be if, in fact, we can have now a new medication for treating smoking cessation,†she said. “That could have a tremendous impact on health.â€
Smoking rates in the United States have decreased over time, but cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A from the American Cancer Society found that smoking contributes to nearly 1 in 5 new cancer cases and nearly a third of cancer deaths each year.
But fewer than 1 in 10 adult cigarette smokers succeed in quitting each year, according to the new study, and options for smoking cessation treatment haven’t changed much in decades.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Kamala Harris called Donald Trump 'incredibly irresponsible' for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene's destruction, offering especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day.
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Hezbollah's acting leader said Tuesday that even more Israelis will be displaced as the militant group extends its rocket fire deeper into Israel, in a defiant televised statement marking the anniversary of fighting that escalated into war last month.
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A newly released document shows federal cabinet ministers were warned in May 2022 that hostile states were targeting Canada's strategic interests, the integrity of Canadian institutions and democratic processes, and the ability of the public to exercise Charter-protected rights and freedoms.
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Georgia's highest court reinstated a ban on nearly all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy on Monday while it considers the U.S. state's appeal of last week's ruling by a lower court judge blocking the law.
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The penalty hearing for Guelph Police constable Corey McArthur has heard from two character witnesses, both supporting an eventual return to policing for the officer who has admitted to assaulting a teen who was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
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Saskatoon mayoral candidate Cynthia Block says the city needs a new deal with Ottawa to keep life affordable.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal crash of a side-by-side off-road vehicle east of Parry Sound that killed one and injured another Friday.
For decades, Mississauga First Nation has known that human remains from their land were at the Canadian Museum of History.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is the latest organization to call on the Doug Ford government to re-open dialogue with an airline service that transports lower-income Canadians to crucial medical care far from home.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
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Five vehicles collided in Orillia Monday night during rush hour.
The cause of a fire that caused significant damage to a home in Oro-Medonte over the weekend is under investigation.
More than a hundred members of the Jewish community gathered at Barrie City Hall to commemorate the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas abducted more than 200 Israeli civilians and today's ongoing war in the Middle East commenced.
Delays are to be expected Tuesday morning after a crash in Essex County. According to OPP, the crash happened at Walker Road and Highway 3 in Tecumseh.
The Ambassador Bridge border crossing was 'temporarily closed' for a period of time, according to the Canada Border Services Agency website.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Major crime investigators have been called to the scene of a suspected homicide in the northern Vancouver Island community of Port Hardy.
The day after a minivan was set ablaze outside Vancouver City Hall, a 78-year-old man has been criminally charged.
A Canadian soldier who was exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits while serving in Afghanistan has been awarded full medical compensation for testicular cancer after Veterans Affairs initially denied his claim.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.
Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week – and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.
A Lethbridge police officer involved in a scandal involving former Lethbridge New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips has been reprimanded.
Lethbridge police say a man who escaped from a psychiatric ward at the Chinook Regional Hospital has been found.
While the summer may be over, construction season in Lethbridge is not.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is the latest organization to call on the Doug Ford government to re-open dialogue with an airline service that transports lower-income Canadians to crucial medical care far from home.
For decades, Mississauga First Nation has known that human remains from their land were at the Canadian Museum of History.
Greater Sudbury in partnership with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is hosting the organization's annual mining conference.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
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