Influencers are paid thousands of dollars to promote weight loss drugs
Your support helps us tell the story
This option is still a dead heat, according to many options. In a war with thin wings like that, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are in love with. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality media outlets, we choose not to lock you into our reports and reviews through paywalls. But quality journalism still has to be paid for.
Help us continue to present these critical stories. Your support makes all the difference.
Promoters have been paid tens of thousands of dollars to promote Ozempic and other weight loss drugs online.
Several social media influencers are confirmed to The Cut that weight loss-focused phone brands have paid them for ads, livestreams and new customer sign-ups in recent months.
Stella Kittrell told her 500,000 TikTok followers that she was paid $20,000 to advertise drugs. Jasmines Vanity is giving her 11,000 followers $50 off their first month of a weight loss-focused phone call if they use her sign-up code in January.
Some promoters have made $30,000 a month from advertising GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide (known as Ozempic) and Tirzepatide (known as Mounjaro), The Washington Post reported earlier this year.
However, TikTok cracked down on weight loss in October, announcing new guidelines that prohibit “demonstrating or promoting unhealthy eating and unhealthy weight-loss behaviors, or conducting business or marketing of weight loss or muscle building products.” This caused many influencers to migrate to other platforms, accordingly The Washington Post.
Weight-loss-focused phone companies like Amble Health launched in 2022, when the Food and Drug Administration announced a shortage of semaglutide and tirzepatide.
These companies started selling different types of drugs at low prices. The Cut reports, and they continue to hire influencers who can spread the word about their product.
It is estimated that about 2 million Americans are dependent on these compounded drugs that may soon disappear, KFF Health News reports.
The FDA announced earlier this month that the shortage of tirzepatide has been “resolved.” This means that the companies that made the compound drugs had to stop production, The Washington Post reports. Entrepreneurs and companies reported a flood of calls from customers who found themselves without a product, according to Post.
These compounding drug companies sued the FDA, arguing that the agency failed to recognize how many patients depended on these compounded drugs. Post reports.
Now, the FDA will reevaluate its review of the availability of tirzepatide, accordingly Post.
Dr. Mariana Socal, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and an expert on drug addiction, said Post The credibility of this institution is now “broken”.
An FDA spokeswoman said the agency “does not comment on ongoing litigation,” when contacted Independent.
These drugs may have effects beyond treating Type 2 diabetes and obesity. Researchers are currently investigating the potential effect of the drug on other serious health conditions, including dementia, heart attack, depression, stroke, liver failure, and polycystic ovary syndrome. , Alzheimer’s and even alcoholism. Independent previously reported.
Preliminary data also show that these drugs can reduce inflammation in the body, which can trigger and worsen many serious diseases.
#Influencers #paid #thousands #dollars #promote #weight #loss #drugs