The UK government is betting big on injectable weight-loss drugs. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting are even promoting them as the solution to getting the unemployed back to work, claiming the shots will not only tackle obesity but also boost the UK economy. In reality, however, their enthusiasm for these drugs has little to do with health. Far from being ‘miracle drugs,’ weight-loss injections like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy are simply the latest cynical attempt to feed the insatiable greed of the pharmaceutical investment business.
Reflecting their roles as political stakeholders for the pharma industry, Starmer and Streeting are pinning their hopes on a clinical trial to be run in partnership with American drug giant Eli Lilly, which will inject obese unemployed people with Mounjaro. But in their zeal to worship at the trillion-dollar altar of the pharma industry, they are ignoring the fact that obesity is just one part of a multi-faceted health problem. Treating it without addressing its root causes is not the answer.
Wishful Thinking
This is hardly the first time that the UK government has attempted to tackle obesity. From half-heartedly promoting healthy eating to slapping a tax on sugary drinks, countless initiatives have been thrown at the problem. But they’ve all failed. Today, one in three UK adults is still obese. The notion that drugs are going to achieve what decades of public health policy couldn’t is wishful thinking.
Weight-loss drugs might make people feel full faster, but they aren’t a cure for calorie-dense nutrient-deficient diets. Moreover, there’s already serious concern that relying on them will create a ‘dependency culture’ where people skip the hard work of improving their diet and exercise routines and just rely on injectable pharmaceuticals instead. This might be good for drug industry profits, but it ignores the root causes of the problem.
Celebrity Endorsement
The UK government’s plan raises other questions as well. The country’s National Health Service (NHS) has strict rules about who can get these drugs, for example. Currently, only people with severe obesity and other health complications qualify for Wegovy, and even then, access is restricted to specialist programs that are already stretched to breaking point. Meanwhile, Mounjaro isn’t even approved in the UK yet, and when it is, it could take years to roll out.
But let’s imagine that Starmer and Streeting force the NHS to open up the floodgates. Would drug manufacturers be able to keep up with demand, or would they respond by raising prices? There are already shortages of Wegovy and Ozempi due to private clinics hoarding the supply for wealthy clients. Celebrities have been speaking openly about their use of the injections, and social media is full of endorsements. All this has left the NHS scrambling for supply.
The idea that weight-loss injections will magically reduce long-term unemployment is ultimately delusional. Shedding excess weight could undoubtedly improve some people’s health, but obesity isn’t the primary driver of unemployment. According to data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, mental health conditions and musculoskeletal problems are the main reasons people can’t work. As such, these drugs are clearly not going to spark the economic revival that Starmer and Streeting are seeking.
Unpleasant Side Effects
While weight-loss injections are being pushed as the ultimate fix for obesity and unemployment, they come with a slew of unpleasant side effects that no one’s talking about loudly enough. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain are particularly common. And if patients stop having the injections, most or all of the weight they have lost will likely come back. At a cost of around $1,000 per month per patient, the pharma industry has a vested interest in people becoming dependent on these treatments.
Far from being the game-changer that they are being promoted as, weight-loss drugs are just the latest overhyped pharma fad. It would be naïve to expect them to solve a nation’s health or economic problems anytime soon. Instead, they’re simply another distraction that puts more money in pharma pockets and avoids addressing real, long-term solutions to the myriad of problems now facing our world.
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This article was originally published on Dr. Rath Health Foundation.
Executive Director of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and one of the coauthors of our explosive book, “The Nazi Roots of the ‘Brussels EU’”, Paul is also our expert on the Codex Alimentarius Commission and has had eye-witness experience, as an official observer delegate, at its meetings. You can find Paul on Twitter at @paulanthtaylor
He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from Adobe Stock / Dr. Rath Health Foundation
