When Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel gave his opening monologue at the awards, he joked about the drug Ozempic, saying, "Everybody looks so great. When I look around this room, I can’t help but wonder ‘Is Ozempic right for me?’”
Ozempic is a diabetes drug, with a twist. It may also help people lose weight and after being promoted in Hollywood circles, it has exploded in popularity.
Its weight-loss properties have led some doctors to prescribe the medication "off-label" to obese patients.
TikTok users are promoting it using a weight loss hashtag and videos are attracting millions of views.
The huge demand has contributed to a worldwide shortage, and Australia hasn't been immune.
One woman using Ozempic for weight loss said she has sourced it overseas because it is too hard to find in Australia.
"It works well - I lost 12 kilograms since October 2022," she told The Feed.
"I just got one Ozempic supply last Friday."
Now, online scammers are seeking to capitalise.
Australia's health product regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) told The Feed the scams are tricking customers into entering personal or payment details online to buy products that don't exist.
It said this month it's investigating some websites claiming to sell semaglutide, trading as Ozempic, but it added that some customers are not receiving the product or instead find it's an alternative drug.
Advertising of Ozempic is banned in Australia and the TGA says people should get the drug from pharmacies only with a valid doctor's prescription.
The TGA said unapproved products disguised as semaglutide are being imported into Australia and intercepted by the Australian Border Force.
"These products are currently being tested at the TGA labs," a TGA spokesperson said.
Seek proper advice
Experts are warning about the importance of seeking medical advice from trusted professionals.
Associate Professor Sof Adrikopoulos from Diabetes Australia told The Feed the drug works by affecting the brain to reduce appetite.
"If you are ordering or you are trying to access supply from other sources you do not know what you are getting for starters," he said.
Associate Professor Adrikipoulos said the costs are also inflated with the usual price of a subsidised prescription being $30 compared to hundreds of dollars charged online.
"I would encourage people to see their endocrinologist, their diabetics educator to ensure the medication is right for them and then to go to their pharmacy to get access to it," he said.
Another clinician in NSW, Dr Namson Lau, says his colleagues have received unsolicited emails and faxes offering to supply patients with a 'generic semaglutide', which they have ignored.
"We ignored these messages though as per the TGA's advice, such claims are illegal and are scams, and should properly be reported to them," Dr Lau said.
Ozempic shortage hits diabetes community
Yvonne Appleby has type two diabetes and said the shortage has been 'quite horrific.'
"Because I was off it for so long, it took a long time for me to get used to taking it again," she said.
The 58-year-old said she is not keen to order Ozempic online.
"It just goes to show you how desperately people with type two diabetes need this medication if that is the length that they will through to be able to get supply of it," she said.
In order to try to ensure people with diabetes get priority, the TGA is encouraging doctors not to prescribe Ozempic for weight loss until more supplies of the drug become available.
'Social media is a beast'
Professor Nitika Garg from UNSW Business school studies consumer behaviour. She said people struggling with weight loss are a vulnerable population being targeted online.
"If you feel like there is a magic pill which will help solve that problem and then you see all these attractive influencers talking about it and celebrities who are presumably on it, it becomes easy to ignore the actual advice," Professor Garg said.
“The scams are scams which people are not getting the drug at all but other consumers who are actually using the drug, how are they getting their hands on it,” she asked.
“This whole TikTok phenomenon, the social media endorsement if you will of Ozempic along with the shortage is just like the perfect storm,” Professor Garg said.
She said a proactive approach is needed to prevent further medical issues for consumers online.
“Social media is a beast- this will happen again with some other product so we need to be ahead of the curve,” she said.
The TGA says limited supplies of Ozempic have resumed and are expected to return to normal in coming weeks.
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