Ozempic, the diabetes drug, might have another positive side effect besides weight loss: it might help kick addictive habits. But it’s yet to be FDA-approved for these other uses. So, would you risk the harmful long-term and unknown side effects to get the proposed benefits?
Then we talk about the life-saving drug shortage and the bills introduced in the state legislature to address the housing shortage.
And, it really looks like Green Bay is having a moment.
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Ozempic is first and foremost, a once-weekly injectable medication formulated to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar. However, for the better part of a year, Ozempic has been celebrities’ and TikTok’s new favorite weight loss drug. Now there is reporting that it could have another welcome side effect. Some patients say it quelled their appetite for drinking, smoking, and other addictive habits, according to recent reporting by The Atlantic.
It’s the latest outlet to report that some people describe simply not getting the same thrill from the activities they used to crave after starting semaglutide (the generic name of Ozempic and its ilk). One patient told Insider in October he went from habitually drinking eight to 10 beers at social gatherings to losing interest in alcohol beyond a couple of drinks. Meanwhile, The Atlantic heard from people who found themselves kicking habits like excessive shopping, compulsively biting nails, and picking at skin.
We spend time discussing whether or not you would feel comfortable taking Ozempic for off-label reasons considering all of the magic pills that have come before it that ultimately had longer-term negative health outcomes.
We heard from a caller who reminded us of the very serious shortage Ozempic is having due to the fact that people are taking it for off-brand reasons, leaving people who actually need it to manage their diabetes struggling to get their dosage.
Ozempic is just one of the many drugs that are experiencing a shortage currently. Shortages of cancer drugs and other life-saving medications are reaching their worst point in a decade, forcing physicians to develop workarounds and the Biden administration to mount an all-of-government response.
There are more than 300 drugs in shortage, the highest since 2014, per the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists. Experts are quick to point to the challenges faced by generics makers in a low-margin business that has driven much of the manufacturing to consolidate to just a few players or move overseas.
To we say, this is why free markets on their own don’t always find the best solutions for a functioning society.
Read Axios’ summary for more info: America’s drug shortages reach new heights
So thankfully, state lawmakers have introduced a package of pull that would address Wisconsin’s housing shortage. The package comes as Wisconsin needs to build at least 140,000 housing units by the end of the decade to keep pace with current demand, according to Forward Analytics, the research arm of the Wisconsin Counties Association.
The bills would establish revolving loan funds for the workforce and senior housing, Main Street housing rehabilitation, and turning vacant commercial buildings into new residential developments.
Another bill would establish a low- to no-interest loan program for residents making improvements to homes built before 1980.
Finally, bad news for NIMBY’s since one of the bills aims to make it harder for residents to block new housing as long as a proposed development meets existing zoning requirements. Under the bill, a municipal government must approve a residential housing development if it meets local zoning requirements.
Green Bay, you are the moment.
