A latest weight loss Tiktok Trend has impacted the Ozempic global Supply what are the possible risk of using this off-label diabetes drug.
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Weight Loss Tiktok Trend Caused Ozempic Global Shortage
People on social media are going crazy about how a diabetes drug helps them lose weight. This is causing a global shortage of the drug and making people worried about its effects on public health.
In response, the French agency in charge of making sure drugs are safe has stated that this drug, Ozempic, will only be prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes.
The Danish drug company Novo Nordisk made Ozempic, which is an injected medicine that controls blood sugar levels and insulin production. The active ingredient in this medicine is semaglutide. It is mostly used for people with type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease.
Semaglutide is different because it can act like a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which affects the parts of the brain that control hunger and fullness. It helps people lose weight because it makes them feel full more quickly.
Not surprisingly, Ozempic has been hailed as a miracle way to lose weight on the Internet. The hashtag #Ozempic has already gotten an amazing 600 million views on famous sites like TikTok, and its popularity keeps growing.
Even Elon Musk, the new billionaire boss of Twitter, said that Ozempic and a related drug called Wegovy helped him lose 13 pounds.
There are tens of thousands of people who follow Facebook groups about using Ozempic to lose weight, which shows how popular its slimming effects are. The increased demand around the world has already caused an Ozempic shortage in Australia, and it looks like the supply problems will last for a few more months.
In response, the Australian government has told doctors and nurses not to write any new orders for Ozempic. Also, doctors who treat obese patients are told to look for alternatives to semaglutide until the supply is more stable.
In September, France’s national drug safety office gave doctors similar instructions, telling them to only prescribe new GLP-1 drugs to people with type 2 diabetes and a history of stroke or heart disease.
On Wednesday, the governing body said that they thought about 2,185 people in France who did not have diabetes got Ozempic over the course of a year.
About 1% of Ozempic medicines paid for by state health insurance were due to this wrong use of the drug.
The agency emphasised how bad these off-label medicines are for diabetic patients who really need the drug, and they also warned about serious side effects like stomach problems, pancreatitis, and low blood sugar.
Authorities in both the UK and Australia have sent warnings to online influencers who support these drugs. There are strict rules about how pharmaceutical companies can advertise to the general people in France. Such advertising needs to be approved ahead of time and is only allowed for medicines that aren’t covered by state health insurance.
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In an email, Novo Nordisk said that it does not push or support the use of its products in ways that are not on the label. The company said that it works closely with health authorities to make sure that patients are safe. In December,
Novo Nordisk admitted that the gaps were serious and said it would invest $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) in 2022 to increase production and meet the unexpectedly high demand.
How TikTok Trend impacted on Ozempic Supply
Social media has become much more important to health and fitness trends. One trend that became very popular was a TikTok dare that told people to take Ozempic for weight loss instead of for type 2 diabetes, which is what it was made for.
This popular challenge led to a flood of videos in which people talked about how Ozempic helped them lose a lot of weight and cut their appetite.
Because of this, demand for the drug went through the roof, which led to shortages of Ozempic, which is made by Novo Nordisk.
As the number of people who need Ozempic rose, so did its price, making it harder for those who need it to control their diabetes to pay for it.
Many pharmacies were also overwhelmed by the quick rise in demand, which made it hard for them to meet the rising number of requests for the drug.
People who use Ozempic to control their blood sugar levels were at risk of getting sick because of this. Even though semaglutide is mostly used to treat type 2 diabetes, studies have shown that it can also help people lose weight.
This link between Ozempic and weight loss is probably one reason why people without diabetes use it as a weight control tool.
At first, Novo Nordisk may have seen the TikTok trend as a chance to spread the word about treatments for fat and ways to deal with diabetes. But they soon saw the unexpected effects of this use outside of the label: a lack of their medicine around the world.
The Effects of Ozempic Shortages on Those with Diabetes
People who rely on medicines like Ozempic to control their blood sugar levels had to deal with serious problems because of the TikTok trend.
People who don’t have diabetes but want to lose weight put a lot of pressure on this important drug, making it hard for people with diabetes to get the right medicine for their condition.
Because of this, some people had episodes of low blood sugar, and others had to give themselves insulin shots instead of taking Ozempic.
The sudden rise in demand for Ozempic and the shortages that followed showed how important drug safety and control are, especially when it comes to using drugs in ways that aren’t on the label.
Before using any medication for a reason that is not officially approved by regulatory authorities, it is important to talk to a health care professional.
By getting the right medical advice, people can make sure their medicines are safe and effective and avoid the risks that come with using them outside of the instructions.
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What are the Possible health risks?
People with diabetes who need Ozempic every day and people who only want it to lose weight are both affected by the lack. Francois Montastruc, a pharmacologist at the University Hospital of Toulouse in Haute-Garonne, says that Ozempic could cause mild digestive problems, serious constipation, and inflammation of the pancreas.
In rare cases, one of these problems can even cause cancer. In an interview with the French TV station France 3 last year, he talked about these worries.
The European Medicines Agency’s directions for Ozempic say that nausea, diarrhoea, and low blood sugar are “very common” side effects. Like all medicines, Ozempic has side effects that doctors should think about before giving it to a patient.
Prescription rules may be different in different countries, but it’s important to remember that Ozempic hasn’t been studied much in people who don’t have diabetes or extra weight.
A medicine for diabetes that is often used in ways that are not approved by the FDA reminds me of the Mediator scandal that happened in France.
The mediator was widely suggested as an appetite suppressant and weight loss aid. However, it was later linked to fatal heart problems, so it was taken off the market in France in 2009.
Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, but its active ingredient, semaglutide, was approved by the FDA in 2021 under the brand name Wegovy for long-term weight management in People who are dealing with obesity or overweight and have atleast one related symptoms like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
In the United States alone, the marketing authorization for Wegovy lists several warnings.
These include pancreatitis, gallbladder problems (including gallstones), low blood sugar, acute kidney injury, diabetic retinopathy, an increased heart rate, and suicidal behaviour or thoughts.
The US National Library of Medicine warns that the injectable drug Ozempic “may increase the risk of developing tumours in the thyroid gland, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), a Specific thyroid cancer type.”
Laboratory Animals were given semaglutide developed tumours, but its not certain that this drug cause such risks in humans. Novo Nordisk has said that doctors should decide how to treat their patients, and the company points out that its GLP-1 medicines have been on the market for more than a decade.
Based on safety statistics from trials and post-marketing surveillance, the company says that no risks have been found that are worse than the benefits of treatment.
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A long list of Stolen drugs
It’s not a new thing for people to use drugs for their looks. In 2021, a BBC programme showed how dangerous it was for female social media influencers to use the medicine apetamin to gain weight quickly and get an extreme hourglass shape.
It’s important to know that apetamin isn’t legal in France or the UK, and that taking it can make you feel sleepy. In the worst cases, it can lead to liver failure or even comas.
In the past few years, there have been a lot of complaints about beauty “tricks” that involve using drugs that aren’t licenced or in ways that aren’t on the label.
A 2017 piece on The Conversation, two French researchers warned against using Homeoplasmine, a medicated ointment that contains boric acid and has been recommended by beauty experts as a balm to keep the lips moist.
People are also talking about the use of anti-hemorrhoid creams to get rid of puffiness and bags under the eyes.
But these creams usually have hydrocortisone in them, which is not good for the thin, sensitive skin around the eyes. In general, health officials say to be careful when using products from the medicine cabinet and to ask for help from medical pros..
🌟 Hi ! I’m Christy Anna, your go-to content writer and product reviewer with 8 years of experience in the dynamic world of diet, nutrition and overall health and wellness.
My passion for helping individuals achieve their weight loss goals stems from a deep understanding of the transformative power of a balanced lifestyle. Over the years I’ve dedicated myself to researching, testing and sharing insights on the most effective strategies for a healthier & happier you.