The study “provides additional important information on the potential role of this new class of medications” in treating certain addictions, said Dr. Lorenzo Leggio, an NIH researcher who is leading a 20-week trial of semaglutide for alcohol use disorder now underway in Baltimore.
There are already three medications approved to treat alcohol use disorder, so until larger studies can confirm the findings, people should talk to their doctor about what's already available, said lead author Christian Hendershot, an addiction researcher at University of Southern California.
Smokers in the study who got the semaglutide also cut back on cigarettes, noted Luba Yammine of UTHealth Houston, who is leading other research on GLP-1 drugs for people who want to quit smoking.
For the new study, researchers recruited people who reported symptoms of alcohol use disorder, such as difficulty controlling their drinking, but weren’t actively seeking treatment for it.
But the results add to evidence from animal studies and reports that people are finding drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy helpful to manage cravings, not just for food, but also for tobacco and alcohol.
