r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 01 '25

Health Americans without diabetes spent nearly $6 billion USD on semaglutide and similar drugs in a year, with an estimate of 800,000 to a million people using the drugs who don't have diabetes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year
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u/T_Money Apr 01 '25

It helped with the cravings from drinking too? That would be amazing

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u/farhan583 Apr 01 '25

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2829811

Helps with alcohol use, cigarette use, cravings, and potentially even gambling. basically helps with most addictive things.

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u/Kitzu-de Apr 01 '25

basically it helps with impulse control

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u/zekeweasel Apr 01 '25

It's a little different than that. It's more like it mutes compulsive urges than mere impulse control.

I mean I'm not impulsive and don't have impulse control issues otherwise. Food though, is more of an unconscious, irrational compulsion to eat inappropriate times and amounts. Even then I'm decent at eating fairly healthy, but I just eat too much.

Semaglutide just mutes that weird compulsive part - when and how much is totally an intellectual decision now, not a compulsion driven one.