The drug semaglutide has been linked to a lower risk of alcoholism before, but now we have strong evidence that it really does help curb drinking
By Chris Simms
12 February 2025
People report lower alcohol cravings when on semaglutide
Shutterstock/David MG
Semaglutide really does seem to help people who are addicted to alcohol reduce their intake, according to the first randomised clinical trial of the drug for this purpose.
Sold under brand names including Wegovy and Ozempic, semaglutide works by mimicking a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), hence the technical term for it is a GLP-1 receptor agonist. The drug was first used to treat type 2 diabetes, but because it reduces appetite, Wegovy has now also been licensed for weight loss in eight countries. Semaglutide has also shown hints of helping an extraordinary number of medical conditions.
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When it comes to alcohol use, a 2024 study of 84,000 people linked injecting Ozempic or Wegovy with a lower risk of alcoholism. Promising as that result was, it showed correlation rather than causation.
But now, Christian Hendershot at the University of Southern California and his colleagues have completed the first randomised clinical trial of semaglutide’s effect on alcohol use disorder, a type of study that can tease out causation.
Their trial involved 48 people in the US who had been diagnosed with the condition, of whom 34 were women and 14 were men. Half received weekly low-dose injections of semaglutide for nine weeks and the rest had placebo injections.