Excessive smoking and alcohol consumption impact millions of American adults and even teens. While getting hooked on nicotine or booze is worrying, people who get addicted easily can consume food excessively or engage in gambling, making such abuses just as worse as alcohol and smoking. Amid such concerns, modern medicine continues to actively seek and test drugs that can help people quit smoking, consume alcohol or even help with combatting addiction to gambling and food.
One drug, called Ozempic, has helped millions of Americans lose weight. However, unconfirmed online reports suggest that the drug also helped others get off drinking, stop smoking and even helped fight gambling addiction. An estimated of 50 million Americans have already seen the benefit of the aforementioned drug when it comes to weight loss, a report released by DailyMail reveals.
But what is Ozempic and what does it do? Ozempic is a prescribable diabetes drug that consists of semaglutide, its active ingredient. The injectable drug is known to have positive results when it comes to weight loss with diabetics but some anecdotal reports also claim that it can be beneficial when treating addictions to food, alcohol and even gambling.
A discussion posted on Reddit earlier this year tells the story of a person that was addicted to Adderall, as well as gambling. The person claimed that once he started taking Ozempic, they immediately saw how “stupid” gambling is and significantly decreased the intake of Adderall which stemmed from surgery. “Almost immediately the thought of gambling seemed so obviously stupid – not just dumb financially but a waste of time. It actually seemed boring to me for the first time ever,” wrote the person who claimed that Ozempic worked “almost like a literal miracle.”
Evidence about the Effectiveness of Semaglutide against Addiction Is Insufficient
The Harvard psychiatrist who explores the connection between metabolism and mental health, Dr Chris Palmer, explained: “The exact same brain circuits that are regulating our food intake are also playing a role in our addictive behaviors.” He said that actions or substances that are related to survival and reproduction result in a dopamine award and this is precisely what addictive substances can trigger as well. According to Dr. Palmer, substances that can trigger this dopamine reward system can be considered addictive and those can include food, alcohol, nicotine or even foods with lots of fat or sugars.
While there are other unconfirmed reports and claims about the miracle benefits of semaglutide when it comes to combatting addiction, hard evidence and trials with humans are insufficient. Without any doubt, people affected by problem gambling or addicted to smoking or alcohol need to first consult with an expert rather than taking prescription drugs that may have unexpected long-term effects on their health.