Semaglutide could help people quit craving the smokes

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-27 01:00

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In a small study on 24 people who smoked cigarettes, North American researchers suggest the diabetes and weight loss drug semaglutide - commonly sold as Ozempic and Wegovy - could help reduce people's cravings. The team randomised people into either receiving semaglutide or a placebo, and while they all still smoked relatively the same amount of cigarettes before and after the trial, the semaglutide group had significant reductions in their cravings for smokes (as well as reductions in their body weight and average blood sugar levels). The team believe their research shows that the medication has the potential to change some nicotine needs in people who smoke, irrespective of what kind of treatment they are following to quit.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Southern California, USA

Funder: This project was funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant No. R21DA047663). Dr Klein is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, (grant No. K12TR004416). The project received support from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (grant No. UM1TR004406). Dr Hendershot acknowledges support from the Department of Psychiatry and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

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