The diabetes drug Ozempic has spread rapidly on social media. Celebrities like Amy Schumer, Elon Musk and Kelly Osbourne have openly spoken that they use the drug to lose weight.
This has meant that more and more people want to use Ozempic for the purpose of losing weight. On the black market, Ozempic has become increasingly sought after.
In the fall of 2023, the drug exploded in popularity and in December 2023, the Swedish Medicines Agency went out and called on all doctors to stop prescribing Ozempic to patients who did not have diabetes. Then the diabetics risked being without their medicine.
To this day, the Swedish Medicines Agency works actively to try to reduce illegal sales.
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Photo: Frederik Ringnes/TT. Medicines Agency: “Great demand”
News24 have talked to Tomas Nilsson who is an investigator at the Medical Products Agency.
– Ozempic is not alone in the black market of pharmaceuticals. There, it is above all narcotic drugs that dominate.
But it cannot be proven that the Ozempic sold on the black market is Ozempic. The risk of the buyer ingesting something other than the diabetes medication is high.
– Just Ozempic is a drug for which there is a great demand, and such drugs tend to end up on the black market, says Nilsson and continues:
– Some other examples are tramadol and melanotan II.
Tramadol is prescribed and is used as a pain reliever. The medicine is also classified as a narcotic. Melanotan has been called the “barbie drug” and is banned in Sweden. Use can seriously damage health according to the Swedish Medicines Agency.
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Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT. Ampoules and syringes are sold illegally
He says that the Swedish Medicines Agency tried to identify various accounts on, among other things, Instagram and Facebook where various medicines are sold illegally. When the accounts are discovered, they are taken down.
It is not only drugs that have been discovered among sales, but also kits.
– We have found sales of kits with ampoules and syringes intended for the use of semaglutide, which is in Ozempic.
The black market extends beyond social media. There are also websites dedicated to the illegal sale of medicines.
– It is difficult to know the full extent of the black market for medicines, says investigator Tomas Nilsson to Nyheter24.