Obesity patients made to feel like ‘second-class citizens’ as demand for Ozempic soars
People battling chronic obesity are facing stigmatisation as they try to obtain the much-vaunted drug Ozempic amid shortages in Ireland and elsewhere, according to doctors.
The medication, a weekly injection initially designed to treat type 2 diabetes, has been touted by celebrities and social media influencers as a “miracle drug” for weight loss.
Ozempic, and its sister drug Wegovy, are brand names for the active ingredient semaglutide, which mimics a hormone released after eating, and induces a feeling of fullness.
Users eat less food, and lose weight. But the surge in demand, partially caused by celebrity endorsements and countless enthusiastic TikTok videos, has led to constricted supplies.
“Unfortunately stigma is not new in the area of obesity, most of my patients are used to it,” says Dr Conor Woods, a consultant endocrinologist, who has prescribed Ozempic to “hundreds” of obesity patients.
He says that pharmacies are having to prioritise diabetes patients for access to the scant stocks of Ozempic. “I am getting feedback from obesity patients both struggling to access the drug, and feeling a little bit second-class citizen in the pharmacy trying to get reasons why they can’t get the drug.”
Sheila Swift knows that feeling all too well. The obesity patient from Tallaght in Dublin has shed six stone in weight since starting to take Ozempic in September 2022.
But as the fame of the drug increased, she has found it harder and harder to obtain. Sheila had to travel to Northern Ireland for her last batch, which she found in Newry. She currently has one more dose remaining, and is uncertain where, if at all, she’ll get her next month’s prescription.
Sheila Swift is uncertain about how to get hold of next month’s prescription
“I don’t know if I’m going to get it,” Sheila tells Sky News. “I’ve one week left on the injection that I have and then that’s it. I’m now on the hunt, driving around Ireland like somebody who’s looking for illegal drugs to try and find a pharmacy who might be sympathetic, who might give me my next month’s supply.”
During her search for Ozempic last month, Sheila was at her fourth pharmacy when, she says, she overheard the pharmacist say to a colleague “we’ve none in stock, but it wouldn’t matter, it’s only for diabetes patients”.
“She hadn’t asked if I was diabetic,” Sheila says. “She just looked at me, and said ‘no you’re overweight, so you’re not getting this drug’.”
Dr Woods says that Ozempic has “worked for the majority of my obesity patients”, and Sheila says it’s been a game-changer for her health.
“I feel amazing,” she tells us. “I’m happier in myself. I’m physically able to do more, I can run up and down the stairs rather than taking one step at a time. Ailments I had with my knees have fallen away. I feel amazing.”
Dr Conor Woods has prescribed Ozempic to ‘hundreds’ of obesity patients
In some ways, the drug has been a victim of that success. There are hundreds of millions of views of videos posted under the #ozempic hashtag, and celebrities like Twitter boss Elon Musk have credited the medication with dramatic weight loss.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has described taking Ozempic to stop his late-night “cheddar and chorizo” fridge raids. “So for weeks I jabbed my stomach, and for weeks it worked’, he wrote in his Daily Mail column. “Effortlessly, I pushed aside the puddings and the second helpings. I must have been losing four or five pounds a week – maybe more.”
Mr Johnson eventually stopped taking the drug due to side-effects (which can commonly include nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting), but that hasn’t stopped the huge surge in demand for Ozempic.
Its manufacturer, Danish company Novo Nordisk, says that it expects shortages to continue for the rest of the year. “We are working hard to solve these challenges,” the company said in a statement, adding that it has “significantly increased production capacity”, with its factories running on a 24/7 basis.
It added that Ozempic is “licensed by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Novo Nordisk does not promote or prompt any off label use of its products”, which refers to its use as an anti-obesity medicine.
Pharmacists in Ireland say supplies are distributed on a monthly allocation basis. “Pharmacists have no idea,” says Kathy Maher, who runs a pharmacy in Duleek, Co Meath. “It’s almost like Christmas morning on the first of the month, when I see what comes in the deliveries from my wholesalers.”
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Kathy says most days she’ll receive phone calls from patients seeking Ozempic from up to 100km away. “They’re prepared to travel. It’s really challenging, really upsetting for people if they can’t get the drug they need to treat their condition.”
It can often be galling for diabetes and obesity patients struggling to access the medication to see influencers and celebrities bragging of its benefits.
Sheila says: “I’ve seen a lot of TikTokkers and Instagram people saying they’re taking this drug. So I assumed they’re just telling their weight-loss story, but I never realised there were as many celebrities taking it.
“When you look at the celebrities, who can have chefs at home cooking for them at home, who have personal trainers, they have more time, they have more finances available… they don’t need to be on a drug like this. And it’s not a fast drug, it’s very slow going.
“I don’t know why if you’re not extremely overweight you’d put yourself through it.”
World
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Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil rape case as a feminist march was held in Dublin.
The MMA fighter was accused of raping Nikita Hand, who was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages on Friday after a jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Nikita Hand.
Pic: PA
Posting on social media, the 36-year-old said: “I know I made mistakes”.
It comes as hundreds of people in Dublin staged a demonstration in “utter solidarity” with Ms Hand.
Posting on X, McGregor said: “People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.
“As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision.
“I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side.
“That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym- the fight game awaits!”
Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after he lost a civil case.
Pic: PA
Speaking outside court after the decision, an emotional Ms Hand said the two-week-long civil case had been a “nightmare” but that “justice has been served”.
“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” she added.
In Dublin on Monday night, a march in support of Ms Hand was organised by the socialist feminist movement group Rosa to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The demonstration in Dublin.
Pic: PA
Ruth Coppinger (left) and Natasha O’Brien at the solidarity march.
Pic: PA
Participants chanted “stand with Nikita” and “no more fear, no more shaming, we reject your victim blaming” as they carried signs and banners through the capital’s streets.
Ruth Coppinger, a councillor and general election candidate, and Natasha O’Brien, who became a public figure after a soldier received a suspended sentence for assaulting her, both spoke at the event.
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Ms Coppinger said Ms Hand was “an incredibly brave woman” and that she was watching the event via a live stream.
Ms O’Brien was cheered as she said she’d been “in awe” of Ms Hand’s courage and that Ireland had let out a collective “sigh of relief” after the jury found in Ms Hand’s favour.
McGregor was accused of having “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand.
She was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where the paramedic who assessed her told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
Following eight days of evidence, and three days of closing speeches and the judge’s instructions to the jury, the jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and ten minutes deliberating before returning their verdict.
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