New research supports what some people taking the blockbuster weight loss drug semaglutide – better known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy – have experienced: that it eases alcohol cravings and helps people drink less.
A small group of people who participated in a study published Wednesday even found that semaglutide significantly reduced how many cigarettes they smoked a day.
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"These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder," said researcher Klara Klein, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. "Larger and longer studies in broader populations are needed to fully understand the safety and efficacy in people with alcohol use disorder, but these initial findings are promising."
The findings are significant because alcohol use disorder, which can lead to other chronic health conditions and death, is pervasive in the United States. But only a fraction of people who have alcohol use disorder get effective treatment, and medications approved to treat it are not widely used.
An estimated 28.1 million adults in the United States had alcohol use disorder in 2023, but only 7.8% had received treatment in the past year. And a mere 2% had received medication-assisted treatment for alcohol use disorder, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. There are an estimated 178,000 deaths related to alcohol use disorder a year – with the numbers projected to rise – according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new study aimed at assessing observational evidence that semaglutide reduces alcohol cravings and consumption. Among the 48 adults with alcohol use disorder who participated in the trial, researchers found that low-dose weekly injections of the weight-loss drug reduced weekly cravings for alcohol, the average number of drinks people on days they drank and the number of heavy drinking days. Semaglutide's ability to curb alcohol cravings seemed greater than with current medications used to treat alcohol use disorder, the researchers said.
Also, increasing the semaglutide dose intensified the benefits. The people who received semaglutide decreased the amount of alcohol they consumed on days they drank by an average of nearly 30%, compared to an average dip of about 2% in the placebo group. Nearly 40% of people on semaglutide reported they had no days of heavy drinking in the second month, compared to 20% of people who received placebo injections, according to the research.
Smokers getting semaglutide also smoked significantly fewer cigarettes a day compared to smokers not receiving the weight-loss drug.
Currently, there are a handful of drugs used to help people with problematic drinking. Studies have shown that acamprosate (branded as Campral) is most effective for alcohol use disorder when started after someone has already stopped drinking and that it can help prevent people from returning to alcohol. Naltrexone, which interacts with the opioid receptors in the brain, is available in oral tablets and also in a long-lasting injectable medication, Vivitrol. Research has found that naltrexone can help reduce the number of drinks a person consumes at one time and also help prevent people from going back to heavy drinking. Vivitrol shots also are used to treat opioid use disorder. Disulfiram (branded as Antabuse) is meant to discourage a return to drinking in people who have stopped by causing nausea, vomiting and other intense, adverse symptoms if someone consumes even a small amount of alcohol.
Other medications, including topiramate, baclofen and gabapentin, which are approved to treat other health conditions, have been shown to help people with alcohol use disorder. Additionally, research suggests the psychoactive drug psilocybin leads to a significant reduction in heavy drinking and that methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) may be useful in treating alcohol use disorders, according to a 2023 review of research. Addiction experts recommend that people who use medication also find help through therapy and group support to treat alcohol use disorder.
More studies about semaglutide and alcohol are needed and could increase treatment – since there is still some stigma associated with and a lack of public and provider awareness about current medications to treat alcohol use disorder, the researchers said.
