Amid U.S. Ozempic shortages, users turn to Canadian pharmacies

Ozempic is both a drug and a trend, thanks to online buzz about how people can use the medication to lose weight. And American consumers using it for weight loss—as well as for its intended purpose, to help control diabetes—are now shopping for it in Canada. The medication has been trending on TikTok, with videos tagged #ozempic garnering more than 420 million views. Comedian Chelsea Handler recently joked that 'gaslighting' was the Merriam-Webster dictionary's word of the year—providing an example of term as celebrities who say they've lost weight with water instead of admitting they were taking Ozempic. "Even my housekeeper's on Ozempic,” Handler quipped. As a result of this surge in popularity, Ozempic is in shortage in the U.S., and Americans are turning to Canadian pharmacies to find the drug. The B.C. Ministry of Health told Global News that over 80,000 prescriptions for Ozempic were filled in the year ending Aug. 31, with “Americans filling 22 times as many doses of this drug as they typically do of other pharmaceuticals,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Given the drugs’ heightened profile due to recent social media trends and shortages in the United States, we will continue monitoring the situation.” Read: New guidance: Use drugs, surgery early for obesity in kids The medical ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, which stimulates the release of insulin, and makes users feel more satiated. Another drug, Wegovy, contains the same ingredient and is specifically for weight loss. (Novo Nordisk manufactures both drugs.) Wegovy is effective: in a trial of nearly 2,000 people, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, more than one-third of people who took it lost more than one-fifth of their body weight, and three-quarters lost more than 10% of their weight. It’s about as effective as bariatric surgery, which has a years-long wait list in Canada. The problem is, Wegovy is also in high demand globally—there has yet to be a single order of Wegovy in Canada thanks to the demand for the drug in other areas. “We are working towards commercial availability for Wegovy in Canada, however, we are not yet able to confirm timing,” a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Global News. The company also said it “does not support the use of Ozempic for anything other than the treatment of type 2 diabetes.” Read: Pharmacy U presenter Mike Boivin: Pharmacists can play a role in obesity & weight management When people go off Wegovy, they can regain the weight they’ve lost. “There were a number of patients who were started on Wegovy who couldn’t continue it,” Dr. Kimberly Gudzune, medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, told CNN. “As a result . . . a lot of physicians started prescribing Ozempic off-label, which they’re permitted to do, for the treatment of obesity.” The situation has fed social media discussion suggesting it's unfair for a diabetes drug to be in short supply so people can lose weight. But in a May 2022 joint statement, the Obesity Collective and Weight Issues Network urged people to understand why some might use the drug off-label to treat obesity. “Those taking Ozempic have had it prescribed by their doctor for a whole cluster of health issues alongside their obesity,” Dr. Divya Ramachandran, chair of the Weight Issues Network, wrote in the statement. “Please exercise compassion. Please do not place unfair blame or hate people when they are simply seeking healthcare for their health problems.” Read: POP QUIZ: Obesity in adults

Amid U.S. Ozempic shortages, users turn to Canadian pharmacies

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