Due to its ability to help people lose weight, the diabetes medicine Ozempic has become a social media sensation. However, with its extreme popularity, there are now shortages around the world, and doctors have issued a warning about its potential detrimental effects.

On the social media platform TikTok, where users frequently update followers about their weight loss, videos with the hashtag #Ozempic have almost gathered 600 million views. 

"Losing 40 kilograms (88 pounds) in less than three months is possible" thanks to Ozempic, a French TikToker said with nearly 50,000 views. "It's a miracle," he added.

The injectable medication was initially created and authorized for use in several countries to treat type 2 diabetes by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. 

When blood glucose levels are high, the drug's active ingredient, semaglutide, binds to the receptors of a hormone that regulates blood sugar and prompts the release of insulin. It lessens appetite by slowing down how rapidly food leaves the stomach. 

Peer-reviewed research in early 2021 found that almost three-quarters of people who used Ozempic lost more than 10% of their body weight.

Since then, Novo Nordisk has created a semaglutide medication with a larger dosage known as Wegovy that is intended to treat obesity and was approved for use in the US in 2021, as well as in Europe and the UK last year.

While Wegovy is still not available with a typical prescription in the UK, France, or a few other nations, Ozempic is. 

Not a magic drug

Jean-Luc Faillie, a pharmacology specialist at France's Montpellier University, said this has resulted in an increase in people who do not have diabetes obtaining prescriptions for Ozempic, as well as "falsified" ones.

Douglas Twenefour, head of care at Diabetes UK, said this drug "is not a medication for people who do not have diabetes or are at risk of type 2 diabetes."

"Stronger than anticipated demand" for Ozempic had led to "intermittent availability and period stock-outs," Novo Nordisk told AFP. 

The company's manufacturing facilities around the world "are now operating 24 hours, seven days a week" to bridge the gap, it added.

Doctors are worried that the rising demand for semaglutide among those looking to lose weight would prevent patients with diabetes from being able to obtain it.

When Wegovy does become accessible, Karine Clement, an expert in obesity at France's INSERM medical research institute, advised that patients strictly adhere to their prescription. 

"It is not a magic drug," she said. "As is always the case with obesity, it must be accompanied with a comprehensive treatment plan."

What are the side effects of Ozempic?

Doctors have also voiced worries about semaglutide's side effects, which Faillie said have not received enough attention.

"Neither patients nor prescribers are motivated to report" the side effects, he said.

The most frequent adverse effect of the medication is nausea. Acute pancreatitis, which can happen even at lower doses, biliary abnormalities, and rare instances of severe constipation that can result in bowel obstruction are some of the more uncommon but serious hazards, according to Faillie. 

He also noted an "increased risk of thyroid cancer" after several years of treatment. While the risks were reasonable considering the benefits for people with diabetes, "there are still uncertainties, particularly in obese patients over the long term," he said.

"If it is used to lose a few kilograms, then the therapeutic benefit is zero," Faillie added.

"That would just be cosmetic, while the risks remain."