Antidiabetic drug, Ozempic is gaining popularity in Kosovo for its slimming properties, a craze that increases demand and weighs on prices, despite warnings on possible side effects.
Kosovo has not escaped the international phenomenon of this medication diverted from its initial use and the Ozempic invaded the market of this Balkan country that became culturally linked to the West about five years ago.
One of his last followers is this influencer at the more than 15,000 followers who “decided to try”. “I want to lose 15-16 kilos in two months,” Tringa Kadriu, 29, told AFP, “and then I will continue with fitness”.
Designed to treat type 2 diabetes, the drug is based on the imitation of a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1) which activates receptors in the brain playing a role in the regulation of appetite.
The Ozempic is experiencing worldwide success among non-diabetics outside of its primary indication in order to lose weight, and they sometimes promote it viral on social networks. Authorized for example in 2017 in the United States against type 2 diabetes, he had quickly made a box.
In Kosovo, it is easy to get it.
“I checked a lot of pharmacies in Kosovo” and “Ozempic is very easy to obtain. I was told that I could come when you want to get the medication. I was even advised to start with a dose of 0.25 and gradually increase to 0.5 and 1.0 milligrams,” says Tringa Kadriu.
– Sans prescription –
“There is a great interest in the use of this medication by people who have no diabetes but suffer from obesity,” said Merita Emini-Sadiku, director of the endocrinology clinic at the Kosovo University Center.
The medication can be included, under control, in anti-obesity therapy by specialists “when an obese patient has risk factors to develop diabetes,” she said. But out of the question that it serves “only for aesthetic reasons”.
According to her, the monthly dose went from 75-80 euros to 130-140 euros, “probably due to the high demand”.
This medication “must be prescribed by a doctor,” warns Ms. Emini-Sadiku, because he can cause side effects that people are not aware. Recent studies in particular suggest the possibility of developing thyroid cancer, in addition to the risk of pancreatitis or intestinal obstruction.
However, Tringa Kadriu claims to see “every day at the work of colleagues who take ozempic” and she “does not
