Embargoed until:
Publicly released:
2024-07-30 07:00
People with type 2 diabetes could find it easier to quit smoking by using the diabetes and weight loss drug semaglutide, say researchers from the US. Past research had raised interest in the effect of semaglutide on quitting, so the researchers compared the effects against seven other anti-diabetic medications. They found that semaglutide was linked to a lower risk of smoking-related health care use – which they say would indicate efforts towards quitting. Additionally, the team say similar results were observed in people with and without obesity, and were usually seen within 30 days of the prescription. Importantly, this kind of study cannot prove the semaglutide directly caused these people to quit smoking, and the team say more research is needed before clinicians start off-label prescribing the drug for quitting.
Journal/conference: Annals of Internal Medicine
Link to research (DOI): 10.7326/M23-2718
Organisation/s: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
Funder: The authors acknowledge support from the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA029831),
the National Institute on Aging (AG057557, AG061388,
AG062272, AG076649), and the National Cancer Institute
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (CA221718, CA043703).
Media release
From: American College of Physicians
Semaglutide may show promise for smoking cessationNew use of semaglutide was associated with a lower risk for medical care related to tobacco use disorder (TUD) in smokers with type 2 diabetes compared with 7 other anti-diabetes medications. Those who used semaglutide were less likely to have a medical encounter that included a diagnosis of TUD, prescribing of smoking cessation medication, or smoking cessation counseling during the study timeframe. These findings suggest the need for clinical trials to evaluate semaglutide’s potential for use in smoking cessation. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.Previous reports of reduced desire to smoke in patients treated with semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) medication for type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, have raised interest about its potential benefit for tobacco use disorders. Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine used a target trial emulation framework to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the new use of semaglutide versus the new use of 7 other anti-diabetes medications, including other GLP-1RAs, on TUD-related health care measures in 3 study populations: patients with comorbid type 2 diabetes and TUD, patients with comorbid type 2 diabetes and TUD who had a diagnosis of obesity, and those who did not have a diagnosis of obesity. The researchers found that semaglutide was associated with a lower risk for smoking-related health care utilization—including use that would indicate smoking cessation efforts. Similar effects were observed in subpopulations without and with a diagnosis of obesity and results were seen primarily within 30 days of prescription. While the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that semaglutide might be beneficial for smoking cessation, the authors say study limitations preclude firm conclusions and should not be interpreted to justify clinicians’ use of semaglutide off-label for smoking cessation.