A doctor has spoken out about a controversial drug which is being used for weight loss which has been linked to potentially 20 deaths in the UK. Weight loss jab Ozempic is being used by some people to shed the pounds, but concerns have been raised about possible harmful impacts on health.
Some reports have suggested 20 deaths including a person in their 30s have been linked to the drug which was created to treat diabetes but which has been used by some high profile celebrities including Sharon Osborne who lost three stones.
Speaking on BBC Morning Live Dr Punam Krishnan said that one important thing to remember was that it was not designed to help people lose weight. She told host Sara Cox: “The very first thing to say is Ozempic is not actually a licence weight loss drug in the first place. But if you are on a Ozempic and it’s solely for the purpose of weight loss and it begs the question, how did you get that? And where did you get it from? And who’s regulating and monitoring that, because, like all drugs, Ozempic has side effects.”
She said: “People are always encouraged to log and report any adverse side effects. You can do that on a system called the yellow card scheme. This is online accessible to everyone and what we found was that from 2019, there were 20 reports of fatal adverse side effects from Ozempic. But since then, what we have learned is that actually it there’s no proven link that actually it was a Ozempic that caused these fatal adverse effects.
“So that’s really reassuring. And hopefully, if anybody is on this and is concerned about it, then that offers some reassurance. And, you know, if you do develop any side effects, particularly if you’re on a Ozempic, then report that to your doctor and we would then look into that for you.
“But I think the bigger take home is that you know, you shouldn’t be purchasing drugs like Ozempic online. It’s very important that you get that from a reputable doctor or a weight management service and if you’re eligible, you absolutely will get that. But it’s not for weight loss.”
Weight-loss injections, like Wegovy and Saxenda, are available on the NHS, and if they are prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioural support, after a year people taking them can lose more than 10% of their body weight, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
The Ozempic drug, however, can only be prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes, and isn’t licensed as a weight-loss drug in the UK or the US, although the UK government acknowledges: “It is not authorised for weight-loss, but it is used off-label for that purpose.”
