“Are you on Ozempic?” the man who had just sat down next to me at our mutual friend’s dinner party whispered. “Oh, erm. No, I’m not,” I replied, unsure if I’d just been insulted or complimented.
“Everyone’s on it, darling,” he continued, as flippantly as if discussing the weather. “Let me know if you want some. I know a guy.
” It’s not the first time someone has offered me Ozempic this summer, nor do I suspect it will be the last. I first heard whispers about the weight loss injection last year during London Fashion Week. Models, designers and various other industry types were all rumoured to be taking the drug, alongside a litany of celebrities.
All of them were already slim and had no business consuming Semaglutide, which is the active ingredient sold in various forms under different brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus. These types of drugs work by mimicking a hormone that makes people feel full and were initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes ; they should be used under the guidance of a doctor as part of a comprehensive diet and exercise regime. They should not be ordered illegally and stored in the fridge as a fast-track to getting “beach body ready”.
But according to recent reports, young women are ending up in A&E after buying Ozempic online despite being a healthy weight. That’s the thing: this stuff is dangerous. Not just psychologically – I’ll get to that – but physiologically.
Little is known about the long-.
