They film themselves, a small blue pen in hand. At its end, a needle, with which they prick their stomachs. Everything is broadcast on TikTok, a popular social network for teenagers. On these videos appear women, often overweight, but not only. They inject Ozempic, an antidiabetic, presented as a miracle solution to lose weight.
In a few months, these videos have become very popular in Australia, the United States and now in France. As proof: sales are increasing. So much so that since mid-November, and until the end of March, Ozempic is no longer available in Australian pharmacies. Across the Atlantic too, the authorities are warning of the risk of stock shortages.
In France, we remain cautious. ” Of thereports from the field have reported a sometimes diverted use”, admits the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM). But none “sudden rise” consumption has been observed so far.
However, the videos continue to accumulate “likes”, and global stocks are running out. Authorized in France in 2019, Ozempic helps regulate the blood sugar level of people with type 2 diabetes, the majority form of the disease. Its beneficial effects are numerous. Among these, «weight reductionunderlines Jean-Pierre Riveline, diabetologist at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris. Ozempic has a major effect on slowing gastric emptying. It is also thought to act, at the level of the brain, on the feeling of hunger”.
A practice not without risk
Do these effects apply to obese people? The studies “showed very significant weight loss”, answers Serge Halimi, professor emeritus in diabetology and nutrition at the University of Grenoble. In 2021, the American authorities thus approved the injection of Wegovy, a drug similar to Ozempic, to treat obesity. In France, its use is allowed in certain cases, but it is not yet marketed.
In the meantime, people wishing to lose weight are turning to Ozempic. This presupposes the approval of a doctor willing to prescribe it to them, although this practice, which is still not authorized, is not without risk. It is often accompanied “digestive disorders, such as nausea or vomiting”, details Serge Halimi. Of the “Risks of pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer are also considered, without having been confirmed”, completes Jean-Pierre Riveline.
The Shadow of the Mediator Scandal
The situation could be reminiscent of the one that led to the Mediator scandal, another antidiabetic prescribed for weight loss purposes, which caused more than 1,500 deaths. “The security conditions are not the same today. We are not in the same context, moderates Serge Halimi.
The risks remain real, however, reinforced by the non-supervision of this new use of Ozempic, sometimes consumed by Internet users without overweight or diabetes. «No studies have been done on these people.», notes Emmanuelle Lecornet-Sokol, endocrinologist in Paris and president of the Federation of liberal endocrino-diabetologists.
The trend is also worrying for diabetics, who are 4 million in France. “If the demand for Ozempic continues to increase, people risk having their diabetes destabilized”, warns Jean-François Thébaut, vice-president of the French Federation of Diabetics. At the end of September, the association, accompanied by the ANSM, called on doctors and pharmacists to reserve prescriptions for diabetics already under this treatment. The only solution to avoid, according to Jean-François Thébaut, “process breaks”.