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.”
Read more:
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Wegovy weight loss jab to launch at UK pharmacies
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.”
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
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Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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