VIDEO – ASK NORA VOLKOW –
Jan 2, 2026 – Mounting evidence suggests the drug could address alcohol use disorder, a condition that contributes to an estimated 178,000 deaths annually in the United States. “This stuff is a gamechanger,” said Betsy Spiegel, who has been taking semaglutide-based medication. “Part of how these drugs may work is how they impact the reward centers in the brain,” Heinberg said. “People just don’t find the same reward when they drink, say, a glass of wine, than they used to,” Heinberg said. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, co-authored a 2024 study exploring semaglutide’s link to alcohol use disorder. The study found patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes who took the drug saw a lower risk of relapse, in some cases by more than 50 percent.
“Semaglutide reduced both the incidence as well as the severity of alcohol use disorder,” Volkow said.
A clinical trial in early 2025 showed that for adults with alcohol use disorder, semaglutide significantly reduced alcohol cravings and heavy drinking.
“Both alcohol use disorder, drug addictions have very, very high morbidity and mortality and economic costs, and we have very limited treatments,” Volkow said.
Stefanee Clontz, director of operations at Hydra+, a medical wellness spa in Atlanta that offers semaglutide treatments, said some clients are using the medication specifically to manage their alcohol intake.
“She’s actually down to her goal weight now but still comes in once a week for an injection because it helps her drink less,” Clontz said about one client.
Clontz said her own drinking decreased from daily consumption to three or four times per week after starting semaglutide treatment.
