Semaglutide may show promise in helping people to stop smoking, researchers say

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A weight-loss jab may have the potential to help people quit smoking, researchers suggest.

Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took semaglutide, sold under the brand name Wegovy, were less likely to need medical care linked to their smoking, a study found.

The findings indicate that the drug needs to be investigated for its use in helping people stop smoking, researchers say.

When compared with seven other diabetes medications, new use of semaglutide was associated with a lower risk for medical care related to tobacco addiction (tobacco use disorder – TUD), the study found.

People who used the drug were less likely to be diagnosed with TUD, or prescribed medication to stop smoking, or smoking cessation counselling.

Writing in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers said: “Semaglutide was associated with reduced smoking cessation medication prescriptions and counselling.

“Similar findings were observed in patients with and without a diagnosis of obesity.”

They added: “These findings suggest the need for clinical trials to evaluate semaglutide’s potential for TUD treatment.”

In the past there have been reports of reduced desire to smoke in patients treated with semaglutide, which is also used to treat obesity, raising interest about its potential benefit for use in helping people stop smoking.

The researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the US, said similar effects were observed in and with a diagnosis of obesity and results were seen primarily within 30 days of prescription.

In the UK semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss jab, and is approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese.