Those trying to quit smoking may benefit from weight loss injections.
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the treatment sold under the brand name Wegovy were less likely to need medical care related to their habit, researchers said.
The findings indicate that further research is needed into using the drug to help people quit smoking, the researchers say.
People who used the drug were less likely to be diagnosed with tobacco addiction or to receive prescribed medication or counselling to help them quit smoking, the US study added.
It compared Wegovy, a drug called semaglutide, to seven other diabetes treatments and found it was linked to a lower risk of needing medical help for addiction or “tobacco use disorder” (TUD).
Smokers with type 2 diabetes who took the treatment sold under the brand name Wegovy were less likely to need medical care related to their habit, researchers said.
People who used the drug were less likely to be diagnosed with tobacco addiction or to be prescribed medication or counseling to help them quit smoking.
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss injection and is approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese.
The researchers said similar benefits of semaglutide were also seen in smokers who were not obese.
“These findings suggest the need for clinical trials to evaluate the potential of semaglutide for the treatment of TUD,” they added in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
There have been past reports of reduced cravings in patients treated with semaglutide, which is also used to treat obesity, raising interest in its potential benefit in helping people to stop smoking.
Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the United States said similar effects were seen with and without a diagnosis of obesity and that the results were mostly seen within 30 days of starting treatment.
In the UK, semaglutide is prescribed as a weight-loss injection and is approved for use to help reduce the risk of heart problems in people who are overweight or obese.