A new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reveals popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs are linked to a lower risk for tobacco-use disorder (TUD) in smokers with type 2 diabetes, compared with seven other anti-diabetes medications.
The team’s findings, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest semaglutide—found in the diabetes and weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic—may be worth studying as a possible new treatment for TUD.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable risk factor for many health conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, strokes, diabetes, cancer and other debilitating conditions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO estimates tobacco use kills more than 8 million people annually, with smoking causing over 7 million deaths and secondhand smoke exposure accounting for another 1.3 million.
The research team—led by biomedical informatics professor Rong Xu—analyzed electronic health records of nearly 229,000 patients with both type 2 diabetes and TUD from 2017 to 2023. They found patients prescribed semaglutide had a significantly lower risk for using healthcare services related to TUD, compared to those prescribed seven other anti-obesity medications.
TUD-related healthcare measures analyzed in the study included medical attention for TUD diagnosis and smoking cessation medication prescriptions and counseling.
Researchers cautioned that a decrease in medical interactions linked to TUD may indicate a decrease in tobacco use or relapse, but may also reflect other factors, such as a decreased willingness to seek help to stop smoking.
Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide receptor molecule that decreases hunger and helps regulate blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. It is also the active component of Ozempic and Wegovy.
“While there are effective medications to support people if they wish to stop smoking, not everyone responds to them,” said Xu, also director of the medical school’s Center for AI in Drug Discovery. “As a result of the high relapse rates, alternative medications to help people stop smoking are needed.”
Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse, co-led the study.
Although these findings potentially support the idea that semaglutide could help people quit smoking, the study’s limitations restrict the researchers from making firm conclusions. Therefore, they said, the results shouldn’t be used to support doctors’ off-label use of semaglutide to help people quit smoking. Semaglutide’s use will need to be further investigated through randomized clinical trials, the researchers said.
For more information, please contact Patty Zamora at patty.zamora@case.edu.