The so-called ‘wonder drug’ Ozempic may help people quit smoking and ward off dementia, a new study has found.

The drug semaglutide - known as Ozempic or Wegovy - was first put on the market to treat type 2 diabetes; however, it has also been widely used around the world as a weight loss treatment in recent years.

Now, a new study from Oxford University has fond robust evidence that it may also improve brain capacity and help tackle addiction.

The comprehensive analysis, published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal, examined more than 100 million patient records in the USA, including over 20,000 who were taking Ozempic.

It found that patients taking the drug had a lower risk of both cognitive problems and nicotine dependence.

The study also found that the drug was not associated with an increased risk of neurological or psychiatric issues compared to other antidiabetic medications – a finding researchers say “challenges recent concerns about the drug's safety”.

Pen injection of semaglutide named Ozempic is a diabetes medicine to improve blood sugar

Lead author and Oxford lecturer Dr Riccardo De Giorgi said the study suggests the drugs benefits, “could extend beyond managing diabetes – potentially offering unexpected benefits in the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline and substance misuse.”

“The findings of our study, therefore, not only help reassure the millions of patients relying on semaglutide for diabetes management, but, if confirmed, might also have significant implications for public health in terms of reducing cognitive deficit and smoking rates among patients with diabetes,” he said.

The researchers have warned that, while the study offers strong evidence further investigation is needed – in particular to found out how the drug is having these unexpected effects.

They called for a randomised controlled trial to confirm and extend the study’s findings.

They noted that the study focused on patients who were taking Ozempic as a diabetes treatment, meaning more study is needed to establish whether the same effects would be found in non-diabetes patients.