Ozempic costs $1000/month (in the US) but $5/month to manufacture [0]. I think if this drug and others are to have a significant anti-consumption effect on other companies it needs to be vastly more accessible, which first requires more accessible healthcare in the US, which is unlikely to happen.

Also it's an injection, which raises the barrier. If drugs like these become orally administered and over-the-counter, then yeah, I'd be more confident that it could have a positive effect. But currently, it looks like a drug that few can access/afford in the US.

[0] https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-s...

I'm not very familiar with the approval process for new drugs, but as far as I know it involves some initial step where the safety is assessed, and then the effectiveness. But I don't think either of those are actually long term processes (like, longer than 5 years).

So it scares me a bit when something like Ozepmic pops up and tons of people jump on it, without knowing the long term effects that might appear. I read the other day there's an entire subreddit devoted to Ozempic side effects, and those are only short term ones (maybe those being discussed there were already discovered during the trials, I don't know to be honest).

Are my fears unfounded and just the result of my lack of knowledge around the approval process and/or the inner workings of drugs?

Re: "mounting concern" about the profits of processed food & tobacco companies, here you are also the 2018 classic of the genre:

> Goldman Sachs asks in biotech research report: ‘Is curing patients a sustainable business model?’

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/goldman-asks-is-curing-patie...

If these drugs turn out to be significantly more effective for a wide range of addictions than past approaches, that would indeed be a major societal shift.

I wouldn't try any of them right now, but if my insurance covered one for treating alcoholism at some point I'd give it a shot. If it actually worked it would likely significantly improve not only my life experience, but also my productivity and thereby the lives of others I have an impact on. It's a nice thought.

People like Scott Galloway have been saying this for a while, and he's completely right. The research isn't all there quite yet for stopping addiction, but the research definitely points to GLP1's effectiveness at reducing food cravings, appetite (and anecdotally "food noise") for people taking it.

If you're looking for a quick primer on what the term "GLP1 Agonist" even means: https://glp1.guide/content/what-are-glp1-agonists/

This will absolutely have a huge effect on companies that sell ingestable... "luxuries"/addictive substances -- the only thing holding back the deluge of change is the accessibility/pricing of the drugs.

It also seems like the next phase of this is gene therapy:

https://glp1.guide/content/a-glimpse-of-the-future-glp1-gene...