Slovaks buy diabetes drugs by the thousands in order to lose weight

Recently, a pan-European survey showed that Slovaks are obsessed with losing weight. They consider being overweight as the biggest defect when it comes to their attractiveness, reports the Sme daily.

However, in order to lose weight, many are willing to buy medicine for diabetes. One such drug is Ozempic, a prescription drug fully covered by health insurance companies. Its official price is approximately €83. Nevertheless, many Slovaks are willing to order it online and pay hundreds of euros. The drug is used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and functions as weight loss medication as well.

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According to data from Slovakia's State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL), 1,708 packs of 1 mg Ozempic were consumed in the last quarter of 2023. These were not covered by health insurance companies. However, by the end of the first quarter of 2024 the number almost doubled; a total of 3,381 packs were consumed.

The increase is so high that ŠÚKL expects a temporary shortage in the coming weeks. Deliveries to Slovakia are set based on the number of diabetics, not the number of people who want to lose weight. In addition to Ozempic, Slovaks are also very interested in other drugs with the same active substance - semaglutide - such as Wegovy and Rybelsus.

ŠÚKL warns that by buying from various websites, Slovaks may become victims of fraud and pay for an ineffective drug, or create health issues for themselves.

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