People trying to quit smoking may benefit from diet injections.
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the treatment under the brand name Wegovy were less likely to need medical care related to their addiction, researchers said.
The findings indicate that the drug should be further investigated for its use in smoking cessation, the researchers say.
People who used the drug were less likely to be diagnosed with tobacco dependence or be prescribed medication or counseling to help them quit smoking, the US study found.
The study compared Wegovy, a drug called semaglutide, with seven other diabetes treatments and concluded that it was linked to a lower risk of seeking medical attention for addiction, or “tobacco dependence” (TUD).
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the brand-name treatment Wegovy were less likely to need medical care related to their habit, researchers said
People who used the drug were less likely to be diagnosed with tobacco dependence or to be prescribed medication or counseling to help them quit smoking.
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss drug and is approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese.
According to the researchers, similar benefits of semaglutide were also seen in smokers who were not obese.
“These findings suggest a need for clinical trials to evaluate the potential of semaglutide for the treatment of TUD,” they wrote in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
In the past, there have been reports of reduced urge to smoke in patients treated with semaglutide, a drug also used to treat obesity. This has led to increased interest in the potential benefits of semaglutide for smoking cessation.
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 seen in people diagnosed with obesity, with results mainly seen within 30 days of starting treatment.
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss drug and is approved for use to reduce the risk of heart problems in overweight or obese people.
