Over the past few years, Ozempic has officially become part of the global vocabulary, often used interchangeably to refer to a group of very popular weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s. Now, although widely known for their weight loss effects, researchers are beginning to look at other potential benefits of GLP-1 drugs, and a recent study suggests they may have serious potential for addiction treatment.
GLP-1 and noise addiction
Dr. Al-Ali is a physician-scientist and senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, where he directs the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and currently serves as Chief of Research and Development Services at the VA Health System in St. Louis.
Speaking about his work, Dr. Al-Ali told the story of a patient, a veteran, who tried to quit smoking for more than ten years. The patient later revealed that after he started a GLP-1 medication for his diabetes, he lost interest in smoking, all without using nicotine patches or any effort. In addition, another patient reported that after using the GLP-1 drug for weight loss, alcohol lost its ability – after many years of unsuccessful attempts to quit.
While neither patient started taking GLP-1 drugs to curb their addiction, Dr. Al-Ali could not ignore the underlying connection between their separate experiences.
Just as GLP-1 drugs help people lose weight by working on the gut and reducing the “food noise,” Dr. Al-Ali’s patients noted a reduction in the “substance noise.” Since many addictions do not have an approved treatment, Dr. Al-Ali tried to see if these GLP-1 drugs could curb the addiction and become an effective treatment for addiction.
The study
Dr. Al-Ali and his team analyzed data on more than 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes from the US Department of Veterans Affairs who were treated with GLP-1 drugs or SGLT2 inhibitors, which work by removing excess sugar from the kidneys.
Using this data, the team then compared people who started GLP-1 drugs with people who adjusted for differences in health history, demographics and other factors, and followed both groups for three years. They also asked two important questions;
- For people already struggling with drug addiction, have medications reduced overdoses, drug-related hospitalizations, and deaths?
- For people without a previous substance use disorder, did GLP-1 drugs reduce their risk of developing all major addictive substances: alcohol, opioids, cocaine, cannabis, and nicotine?
GLP-1 and addiction treatment
“The biggest revelation to me is that (these GLP-1 drugs) work across different substances … There is no drug or precursor in our arsenal that actually has this property of working with addictive substances.” – Dr. Al-Ali
To findingspublished BMJ, people taking GLP-1 had a 14% to 25% lower risk of developing addiction compared to people taking SGLT2 inhibitors, and the reduction was greater in terms of developing opioid dependence, which is great news because we’re in the midst of an increase in addiction. opiate addiction epidemic
In people without a previous substance use disorder, GLP-1 worked to reduce the risk of developing alcohol use disorder by 18%, the risk of opioid use disorder by 25%, and the risk of cocaine and nicotine dependence by about 20%..
Among those struggling with addiction, those taking GLP-1 drugs had 39% fewer overdoses, 26% fewer drug-related hospitalizations, 25% fewer suicide attempts, and 50% fewer drug-related deaths.
Chart: US Conversation. Source: BMJ. Built with Datawrapper
“Here’s a trial with 600,000 people studying not just opiates or nicotine or alcohol, but all of them. So it’s unlikely to be a fluke or a chance finding.” says Al-Ali, adding that their findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence.
For example, Swedish 2024 to read found that those with alcohol use disorder who took GLP-1 drugs had a 36% lower risk of alcoholism hospitalization. to read They found an association between semaglutide and a 50%–56% reduction in the risk of both the onset and recurrence of an alcohol use disorder over a 12-month period.
Could GLP be a game changer for addiction?
As drug-related illnesses and deaths continue to rise in the nation, identifying a single drug that can treat substance use disorders would be a game changer.
Despite the findings, the study has its limitations. For one, the data used were mostly male and older. Also, how do these drugs affect addiction when people stop taking them, because many people who stop taking GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity usually regain the weight they lost, so does this happen with addiction?
“I’m worried about what’s going to happen because if (these drugs) block cravings in the mesolimbic (brain) system, all of a sudden people stop taking them and the cravings come back with a vengeance.” says Al-Ali, adding that more research is needed to understand and appreciate the uncertainties.
“I am excited by these results, but as a scientist, I do not recommend (GLP-1s) for the sole indication of addiction at this point, waiting for more research and understanding and to resolve more uncertainties.”
Quotes
Al-Ali, Z. (2026). According to a study of 600,000 people, the drug GLP-1 can fight addiction in all major substances. (online) doi:https://doi.org/10.64628/aai.h3med45fx.
Liakhtinvuo, M.S., Tiihonen, J., Solismaa, A., et al. (2024). Reversal of semaglutide and liraglutide for alcohol use disorders. JAMA Psychiatry. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3599
Qeadan, F. (2026). Metabolic drugs and addiction: what GLP-1 receptor agonists can add to substance abuse care. BMJ392, p. 325. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s325.
Wang, W., Volkow, ND, Berger, NA, Davis, PB, Kaelber, DC, and Xu, R. (2024). Associations of semaglutide with onset and recurrence of alcohol use disorders in a real world population. Communication of nature, 15(1), 4548. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48780-6
