Weight loss drug shows promise for treating alcohol addiction

ATLANTA (InvestigateTV) — A medication that has helped millions lose weight is showing promise as a potential treatment for alcohol addiction, according to new research.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, appears to help people reduce their alcohol consumption.

Mounting evidence suggests the drug could address alcohol use disorder, a condition that contributes to an estimated 178,000 deaths annually in the United States.

Some experts, however, caution against off-label use of the medications until more research is done.

“This stuff is a gamechanger,” said Betsy Spiegel, who has been taking semaglutide-based medication.

Unexpected side effect

Spiegel said she began taking the appetite-regulating medication to lose weight and has shed 80 pounds.

But she discovered an unexpected benefit.

Spiegel said she was always a social drinker, but a few months into taking the drug, her desire for alcohol nearly disappeared.

One glass of wine would last her all night, and she might not have even finished it.

“I almost quit drinking completely because it just did not taste good to me anymore,” Spiegel said.

Dr. Leslie Heinberg of Cleveland Clinic said millions of Americans use GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide to help control hunger and blood sugar levels.

“Part of how these drugs may work is how they impact the reward centers in the brain,” Heinberg said. “People just don’t find the same reward when they drink, say, a glass of wine, than they used to,” Heinberg said.

Research shows reduction in alcohol use

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, co-authored a 2024 study exploring semaglutide’s link to alcohol use disorder. The study found patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes who took the drug saw a lower risk of relapse, in some cases by more than 50 percent.

“Semaglutide reduced both the incidence as well as the severity of alcohol use disorder,” Volkow said.

A clinical trial in early 2025 showed that for adults with alcohol use disorder, semaglutide significantly reduced alcohol cravings and heavy drinking.

“Both alcohol use disorder, drug addictions have very, very high morbidity and mortality and economic costs, and we have very limited treatments,” Volkow said.

Stefanee Clontz, director of operations at Hydra+, a medical wellness spa in Atlanta that offers semaglutide treatments, said some clients are using the medication specifically to manage their alcohol intake.

“She’s actually down to her goal weight now but still comes in once a week for an injection because it helps her drink less,” Clontz said about one client.

Clontz said her own drinking decreased from daily consumption to three or four times per week after starting semaglutide treatment.

Off-label use raises concerns

Volkow cautioned against off-label use until safety and efficacy have been confirmed by scientific research. Semaglutide has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating alcohol use disorders.

“People are prescribing them, so there is an urgency to move forward as fast as possible so we can determine and guide people — yes this is valuable or non-valuable," Volkow said.

More research needed

Volkow said continued research is needed, including larger clinical trials, to answer questions about dosing, treatment duration and effectiveness compared to other medications.

“Having a whole toolbox of options that we can offer patients, I think, is really essential in order to address the complexity of these diseases,” Heinberg said.

Additional trials are underway across the country to explore semaglutide’s potential in treating alcohol use disorders and other addictive behaviors.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, sponsored a study examining semaglutide’s effect on alcohol consumption, though the company said the main purpose was to assess effects on liver health.

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