The prescription drug Ozempic, used to treat Type 2 diabetes, has gone viral on TikTok as a weight loss drug creating a worldwide shortage for those who really need it.
Under Australian laws, public advertisement of prescription medication is prohibited to prevent misleading claims. So when reports surfaced Ozempic was receiving widespread recommendations from social media influencers the Therapeutic Goods Administration began investigating.
“You’ve got a hero of the TGA coming in to correct the situation in a peculiar way. What usually happens in social media, the story actually turns upon itself. So now we’ve got a whole lot of self-proclaimed, social media warriors who are now venting on people living with obesity, who they represent as the villains here.”
Professor Tim Gill
Professor Tim Gill, a Public Health Advisor on nutrition joins us to explain what it is about the drug that has prompted the TGA’s investigations.
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