Are people using Ozempic getting an injection of confidence or an appetite for trouble?
While the drug was first manufactured to treat Type Two Diabetes, Ozempic was later found to treat obesity.
How, the drug has become a ‘get skinny quick’ trick for people simply looking to lose a bit of weight – and many are concerned about potential side effects.
HSE Clinical Lead on Obesity Professor Donal O’Shea told Newstalk reporter Sarah Madden it’s not clear how many people are seeking Ozempic for cosmetic reasons.
“But I know GPs are being asked for prescriptions, widely by patients who don’t meet the criteria for it,” he told The Pat Kenny Show.
He said GPs are being “pressured” to prescribe Ozempic – while others are proudly advertising the drug.
Prof O’Shea recalled one ad he recently saw in an airport in Bristol that instructed people to go to a specific medical clinic to get a ‘bikini body’.
“That use of the drug should result in action being taken against any clinician who would prescribe [Ozempic] to someone to look good,” he said.
“From my point of view as an obesity specialist, we finally have a treatment for people with severe and complex obesity.
“They are, at the moment, having limited access – and part of the limited access is due to the inappropriate use of the drug.”
Ozempic abroad
People who cannot get a prescription for Ozempic in Ireland are still finding a way to access the drug, hungry for the ‘perfect body’.
One woman said she knows a woman who travelled abroad to get ‘Turkey Ozempic’ for herself and her friends.
“She brought back a whole suitcase of Ozempic for her friends,” she said.”
“She showed me her Revolut and all of her friends were just transferring her money.”
Celebrities such as the Kardashians have been blamed for setting unrealistic beauty standards, particularly with weight.
“There’s a suspicious number of celebrities who have lost weight and claim it was yoga,” one man said.
"You don’t lose that much weight that quickly doing just that.”
Side effects
Former Operation Transformation presenter Dr Eva Orsmond said drugs like Ozempic are always taken off the market eventually due to the side effects.
“One of the side effects of this drug is it delays gastric emptying,” she said.
“This lady ended up seriously constipated that they thought they needed to operate on her.”
Another woman who works in a hospital said she often sees young people presenting with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting due to Ozempic.
The Danish pharmaceutical company behind drugs including Ozempic shelved plans to build a plant in west Dublin today.
In a statement, Novo Nordisk said the decision comes after "an assessment" of the project at Grange Castle Business Park in Clondalkin.
"Following an assessment, Novo Nordisk has made the decision to stop project activities in Grange Castle Business Park in Ireland," they said.
The company recently acquired a facility in Athlone for manufacturing oral products.
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