The French health authorities have issued a warning on Wednesday about misuse of Ozempic, a diabetes medicationthat in social networks some celebrities They are promoting it as slimming.
In a statement, the National Drug Safety Agency (ANSM) and Social Security emphasize that Ozempic “should only be prescribed for insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes”, according to the authorization given for its marketing since April 2019. The reason is that its use to lose weight it affects availability to patients with diabetes and “may cause or exacerbate supply stress by depriving them of this essential treatment.”
“Undesirable Effects”
In addition, the ANSM and the Social Security warn that “this medication can lead to potentially serious undesirable effects, such as gastrointestinal problems, pancreatitis or hypoglycemia”.
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According to the elements they have collected, between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 there were 215,000 patients who were prescribed Ozempic, of whom 2,185 were non-diabetics.
That means around 1% misuse. For this reason, the health authorities consider them “limited”, but even so they will continue to evaluate whether additional measures are needed, beyond the current warnings to the public, doctors and pharmacists, who are asked to declare suspicious prescriptions, that they do not administer the medication and that they contact the doctor who signs them.