TikTok weight loss hype causing diabetes medicine shortage

From Atkins to keto to expensive miracle gummies, the public is willing to try anything to lose that extra bit of weight hanging around their torso. The latest craze? An “easy and effective” weight loss hack involving nothing more than a small injection, more specifically, the diabetes compound?#semaglutide.

The so-called miracle drug is often prescribed under the brand?Ozempic?to diabetics in order to regulate blood sugar, which can be life threatening if not controlled. Due to its appetite-suppression effect, the pill is also known to cause weight loss. The drug manufacturer, Novo Nordisk also offers?Wegovy, an injection containing smaller doses of the same compound (semaglutide) specifically for weight loss.

Since believed to have been used by Kim Kardashian, who needed to lose 15 pounds fast to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress for the Met Gala, the trend has blown up on Tiktok, causing a shortage of the essential drug in several countries. Shortages of Wegovy caused users to opt for Ozempic, creating too much demand for the diabetes drug.

We have used Doltracker Search Engine Feature to analyze content and gain insight in Social Media around the potential shortage of GLP-1 drugs. By searching the keyword “Shortage” with the platform search engine on the selected?GLP-1 drugs, we see mention is mostly focused on semaglutide and especially?Ozempic?as can be seen in the following tables taken from the platform. Competitor such as Lilly’s?Mounjaro?which has also showed weight loss effects and just received a priority review from the FDA and EC approval for obesity indication doesn’t yet seen as an alternative to semaglutide shortage in social media comments... until now...

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Though supply is dwindling, the craze only seems to be growing. As of October 14, 2022,?#Ozempic?on TikTok has a total of?210.8 million?views and rising. The hashtag?#OzempicWeightLoss?comes in second, with?78.5 million?views and, in third, the?#OzempicChallenge, a new hashtag challenging users to try the drug, has?2.2 million.

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