Those trying to quit cigarettes could be helped by weight-loss jabs.
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the treatment sold under the brand name Wegovy were less likely to need medical care linked to their habit, researchers said.
The findings indicate that the drug needs to be investigated for its use in helping people stop smoking, researchers say.
People who used the drug had a lower chance of being diagnosed with tobacco addiction or prescribed medication or counselling to stop smoking, added the US study.
It compared Wegovy, a medication called semaglutide, to seven other diabetes treatments and found it was linked to less risk of needing medical help for addiction or ‘tobacco use disorder’ (TUD).
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the treatment sold under the brand name Wegovy were less likely to need medical care linked to their habit, researchers said
People who used the drug had a lower chance of being diagnosed with tobacco addiction or prescribed medication or counselling to stop smoking
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss jab and approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese
The researchers said similar benefits from semaglutide were also seen in smokers who were not obese.
‘These findings suggest the need for clinical trials to evaluate semaglutide’s potential for TUD treatment,’ they added in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
In the past there have been reports of reduced desire to smoke in patients treated with semaglutide, which is also used to treat obesity, raising interest about its potential benefit for use in helping people stop smoking.
The researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the US, said similar effects were observed in and with a diagnosis of obesity and results were seen primarily within 30 days of treatment starting.
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss jab and approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese.