this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2026
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Public spending on prescriptions rises to $20.1-billion in 2024 as use of Ozempic grows (www.theglobeandmail.com)
submitted 4 months ago by rss@ibbit.at to c/medicine@lemmy.ca
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Public spending on prescription medications in Canada grew by more than 9 per cent in 2024, with one drug driving the increase more than any other: Ozempic.

From The Globe and Mail via this RSS feed

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[โ€“] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Wait till we see 2025 and 2026 data on overall and Ozempic sales. 2024 was before major entry into Canada, iirc.

Perhaps a larger issue, in my limited and anecdotal analysis, is the rise of app-based medical services that are prescription mills for "fashionable drugs" like erection pills, stimulants (meant for people with ADHD), GLP1 inhibitors like ozempic (meant for people with diabetes or obesity).

Patients pay to access drugs, almost self-prescribing, through these services given their often limited patient assessment and care.

I have a colleague, late 20s, I'd say she has basically a perfect body, one many women would want. She works out a lot. She paid for one of these services. Not even a video call. Said she was 200 lbs on the application form. Is probably about 105 lbs. I suspect she has body image issues (edit: she's taking ozempic specifically to try to lose weight). She's being gouged $200/mo for ozempic alone, before the fees to be 'medically supervised' on it by the app.

You basically starve yourself on ozempic at doses intended for weight loss - which isn't a problem if you have obesity. Self-starvation at healthy or under weight and being interested in starting a family down the road (especially as an AFAB) is a different matter. And it is one that probably isn't sufficiently addressed in a service in which a person can lie about their weight by 2x