FDA Gives Up and “Solves” National Obesity Crisis with Free Ozempic
With more than 40% of Americans considered obese and the challenges of getting anyone to eat less and exercise more (or at all), the US Food and Drug Administration has “thrown in the towel”. Starting in February, Ozempic and other antidiabetic drugs with weight loss side effects will be available free of charge with no doctor visit or prescription needed. In fact, the FDA will hire staff to give away the drugs on street corners next to the drug dealers. Anyone looking even slightly overweight will get a free three-month supply whether they want it or not. Fast food restaurants will be required to provide the drugs with every purchase. The stock price for Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic, reached new highs on the announcement, with other pharmaceutical companies stock prices rising as well. The cost of one year of free weight loss medication dispensing is expected to cost the American taxpayer more than $8 billion over three years. When asked about the negative effects of these free medications, the FDA commissioner responded that deaths from the use of these medications would be much lower than the number that die each year from obesity and its related comorbidities. This “medical investment” is likely to reduce the number of deaths from obesity by at least 250,000 per year, eventually eliminate the estimated $117 billion in costs to society from obesity, and significantly reduce state and federal expenditures for health care under Medicare and Medicaid programs. The FDA is considering proposals from the American Medical Association to offer free weight loss medications through the mail, at grocery stores, and at buffet-style restaurants.