Study Suggests Weight-Loss Drugs Like Ozempic May Help Alcoholism, Opioid Addiction

What doesn’t it cure? 

A new study suggests increasingly popular GLP-1 drugs — better known by the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, and used to treat diabetes and obesity — could help cut opioid and alcohol abuse nearly in half. But, as with all early-days research, until there’s more evidence, GLP-1 makers will have to subsist on an all-you-can-eat buffet of optimism.

A Mega Study in Contrasts

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction, saw researchers scan a vast trove of US electronic health records to look for people with an opioid or alcohol addiction who had also been prescribed a GLP-1 drug to treat obesity or diabetes. 

Their subsequent analysis revealed a very large, and very promising, gap:

• Among more than 500,000 people diagnosed with opioid-use disorder, the researchers found 8,103 who were prescribed GLP-1 drugs. Those with prescriptions had a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose.
• Among more than 817,000 people diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, they found 5,621 with GLP-1 drug prescriptions. Those with a prescription reported a 50% lower rate of intoxication.

But GLP-1 drug manufacturers like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly — which have already earned billions from the weight-loss craze — shouldn’t pop the non-alcoholic prosecco just yet. Since results were based on analysis of records, the researchers notes, a causal link can’t be established without holding randomized controlled trials.

Consider This: “A note of caution is that the outcomes are very extreme instances of substance intoxication,” said Matt Field, a psychology professor at the University of Sheffield, in response to the report. “This leaves open the possibility that while Ozempic may (for reasons currently unknown) prevent people from taking so much alcohol or heroin that they overdose and end up in hospital, it may not actually help them to reduce their substance use, or to abstain altogether.”