A drug that is used to help adults with type 2 diabetes – and that celebrities take to lose weight – may soon be available in the UK.
Ozempic, a brand of semaglutide drug will reportedly be available in Boots this spring, according to the Mail on Sunday.
What exactly is a semaglutide drug?
Adults with type 2 diabetes use the once-weekly medicine to help improve blood sugar and limit the risk of major cardiovascular events.
Ozempic apparently represses appetite, causing people to lose weight, and its reported that users shed an average of 16 percent of their body weight over a year.
How do celebrities use it?
It’s rumoured that Kim Kardashian used semaglutide to lose 16lb to fit into a Marilyn Monroe’s dress that she wore at the Met Gala, and the drug’s labelled “the worst-kept secret in Hollywood.”
Taking Ozempic is apparently standard practice for celebrities before attending large celebrity events. Elon Musk has been open about using the drug, and American comedian Chelsea Handler told the Call Her Daddy podcast that she was unknowingly prescribed the drug by her “anti-aging doctor” who she says “just hands it out to anybody.”
Dr David Eccleston, a private Birmingham GP who specialises in fat loss, claims to have turned down more than 100 patients who have requested Ozempic to lose weight, saying: “No medical professional in the UK is allowed to actively promote Ozempic as a treatment for obesity because it is outside the product licence.”