The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines alerts, this Wednesday, March 1, on Ozempic, a drug prescribed against diabetes which is increasingly used as an appetite suppressant.
The Alert Medicines and Health Products Safety Agency (ANSM) warns of the misuse of the antidiabetic Ozempic, reports France Info. This molecule is all the rage on the TikTok social network for its slimming properties. Pushed by influencers, the keyword #Ozempic reached more than 500 million views on the social network on February 24, according to AFP. The ANSM fears that by diverting this drug, false patients will create a shortage and deprive diabetics of it. Indicated in insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes and available only by prescription, Ozempic has benefited around 215,000 patients in a year and a half, according to the ANSM. Of these patients, 2,185 can be considered non-diabetic.
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In addition, the agency warns that if taken long-term to lose weight, the drug can be dangerous, with “risks of biliary or pancreatic diseases, thyroid cancer”. The ANSM thus reminds doctors that Ozempic should only be prescribed to diabetic patients. The agency also asks pharmacists to report all suspicious prescriptions and invites them to refuse delivery of the drug in case of doubt.