Semaglutide reduces the urge to drink alcohol and the amount drunk in one sitting. This was shown by two placebo-controlled trials published in 2025 and 2026. In the larger one, from Denmark, people on semaglutide had 41 percentage points fewer heavy drinking days after six months. In the placebo group the drop was 26 points. On top of these results come three large population analyses and a cost estimate for the regimen from the American trial.
The topic is new and the questions keep coming. People taking semaglutide reported less desire to drink. Researchers took these reports seriously and tested them under controlled conditions.
Does semaglutide reduce the urge to drink alcohol?
Yes, in both placebo-controlled trials semaglutide lowered alcohol craving or the number of heavy drinking days. The first trial, from the United States, mainly measured the amount of alcohol drunk in a laboratory. The second, from Denmark, counted heavy drinking days over six months of treatment. The table sets out both results.
| Trial | Participants | Weekly dose and duration | Main result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hendershot et al., JAMA Psychiatry 2025 | 48 people with alcohol use disorder, not seeking treatment | from 0.25 to 1 mg for 9 weeks | less alcohol drunk in the laboratory, lower weekly alcohol craving |
| Klausen et al., Lancet 2026 | 108 people with alcohol use disorder and obesity, seeking treatment | 2.4 mg for 26 weeks, together with cognitive behavioural therapy | heavy drinking days: drop of 41.1 against 26.4 percentage points |
Both trials were double-blind, so neither the participant nor the researcher knew who was getting semaglutide.
What did the JAMA Psychiatry trial show?
The JAMA Psychiatry trial showed that a low dose of semaglutide reduces the amount of alcohol drunk in one session. It included 48 adults with alcohol use disorder. Women made up 71 percent of the group, and the average age was 40. None of the participants had sought treatment before.
The dose was raised gradually, as in obesity treatment. For four weeks participants received 0.25 mg a week, for the next four 0.5 mg, and in the last week 1 mg. The main measurement took place in the laboratory at the 0.5 mg dose. There, participants could order alcoholic drinks themselves, and the researchers counted the grams of alcohol drunk and measured its concentration in exhaled air.
The semaglutide group drank fewer grams of alcohol in the laboratory and reached a lower concentration in exhaled air. Outside the laboratory, the number of drinks on a drinking day fell. Alcohol craving, rated every week, fell as well. The number of days with alcohol stayed similar to the placebo group. Semaglutide therefore reduced how much a person drinks at one time, not how often they reach for a glass.
An additional result concerned cigarettes. Smokers on semaglutide smoked fewer cigarettes a day from week to week than smokers in the placebo group. This result, however, applied only to the subgroup of smokers.
What did the Danish trial in the Lancet show?
The Danish trial showed a clear drop in the number of heavy drinking days after 26 weeks of semaglutide. It included 108 people with moderate or severe alcohol use disorder and obesity at the same time. The group consisted of 53 women and 55 men. Every participant wanted to cut down on drinking and attended cognitive behavioural therapy.
Half the group received semaglutide 2.4 mg once a week, the maintenance dose from the Wegovy label. The other half received saline on the same schedule. The full six months of treatment were completed by 88 people, or 81 percent of participants.
- In the semaglutide group, the share of heavy drinking days fell by 41.1 percentage points from baseline.
- In the placebo group, this share fell by 26.4 percentage points, with the same therapy.
- Semaglutide beat placebo by 13.7 percentage points, and the difference was statistically significant.
The placebo group also drank less, because therapy works in its own right. Semaglutide added a clear effect on top of what the talks with the therapist achieved. The authors also described favourable changes in further measurements related to alcohol and to the body. Side effects mainly concerned the stomach and gut, were mild or moderate and passed on their own.
What do large population studies and the meta-analysis say?
Large population studies link semaglutide with fewer diagnoses of alcohol problems and fewer hospital admissions because of them. Such analyses do not randomise treatment, but compare the medical records of hundreds of thousands of people. They show an association, not a cause, but their scale is large.
| Analysis | Who it covered | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wang et al., Nature Communications 2024, USA | 83,825 people with obesity | risk of a first diagnosis and of relapse lower by 50 to 56 percent over 12 months, compared with other obesity drugs |
| Lähteenvuo et al., JAMA Psychiatry 2025, Sweden | 227,866 people with alcohol use disorder, including 4,321 taking semaglutide | risk of alcohol-related hospital admission lower by 36 percent in periods on semaglutide |
| Cai et al., BMJ 2026, USA | 524,817 veterans with type 2 diabetes | risk of alcohol-related disorders lower by 18 percent with GLP-1 drugs compared with SGLT-2 drugs |
The American analysis repeated the same result in a second group of 598,803 people with type 2 diabetes. In the Swedish analysis, the risk was compared within the same person in periods with and without the drug. Semaglutide did better there than the drugs approved for treating alcohol dependence, with which the risk fell by about 2 percent.
A 2025 meta-analysis pooled 14 studies of GLP-1 drugs and alcohol, including four randomised trials. Together they covered more than 5.2 million people. The AUDIT score fell on average by 7.81 points. The AUDIT test runs on a scale from 0 to 40 and measures risky drinking, symptoms of dependence and alcohol-related harm.
The strongest data in this meta-analysis concerned semaglutide and liraglutide. Brain imaging studies showed a weaker response to the sight of alcohol and weaker dopamine signalling. Dopamine is the messenger of the reward system, which is responsible for the feeling of pleasure. The authors of the meta-analysis also noted that weight loss helped participants stay in treatment.
How does semaglutide act on the urge to drink?
Semaglutide most likely weakens the response of the brain's reward system to alcohol. The 2025 meta-analysis describes GLP-1 drugs as molecules that also act on central reward pathways, not only on the pancreas and stomach. The imaging studies collected in that paper showed that after GLP-1 drugs, the sight of alcohol triggers a weaker brain response.
The result of the American trial fits this picture. Participants drank as often as before, but drank less on a drinking day. What decreased was the reward from the next drink, not the habit of reaching for alcohol itself.
The mechanism is still being studied, and none of the papers describes it completely.
Can you drink alcohol on semaglutide?
The Ozempic label does not list alcohol among interactions or warnings. We checked the current US prescribing information in the DailyMed database, in the version from June 2026. The word alcohol appears in it only in connection with the swab for wiping the skin before the injection. In both placebo-controlled trials, participants drank alcohol during treatment, and the researchers measured how much they drank.
A person treated with semaglutide for diabetes or obesity should agree the rules on drinking with their doctor. The doctor knows their other medicines and state of health, which no label covers.
How much does semaglutide for such a regimen cost?
The regimen from the JAMA Psychiatry trial uses 4 mg of semaglutide over nine weeks. Four weeks at 0.25 mg make 1 mg, four weeks at 0.5 mg make 2 mg, and the last week at 1 mg adds 1 mg. For that period you need two vials of semaglutide 3 mg Bio-Peptide at 90 EUR each, or 180 EUR, with 2 mg to spare.
All versions of this molecule with price and availability are collected on the semaglutide page in the shop. The exact sums for longer regimens, up to the 2.4 mg dose from the Danish trial, are in the guide on how long a vial of semaglutide, tirzepatide and retatrutide lasts.
What else can semaglutide do apart from body weight?
Alcohol is one of several effects of semaglutide that go beyond weight loss. The US FDA has already added heart protection, kidney protection and the treatment of fatty liver inflammation to its labels. The figures from those trials are described in the guide on how semaglutide and tirzepatide act on the heart, kidneys, sleep and liver. The basics of how the whole group works are in the guide GLP-1 and incretins: how semaglutide, tirzepatide and retatrutide affect body weight. The difference between a pharmacy drug and research material is explained in the guide semaglutide and tirzepatide: the drug, research material and the difference between them.
Frequently asked questions
Does semaglutide reduce the urge to drink alcohol?
Yes. In the JAMA Psychiatry trial, semaglutide lowered weekly alcohol craving and the amount of alcohol drunk in the laboratory compared with placebo.
What dose of semaglutide was used in the alcohol studies?
The American trial raised the dose from 0.25 to 1 mg a week over 9 weeks. The Danish trial used 2.4 mg a week for 26 weeks.
Can Ozempic be combined with alcohol?
The US Ozempic label does not list alcohol among interactions. The rules on drinking during treatment are set by the treating doctor, who knows the patient's other medicines.
How long does it take semaglutide to reduce drinking?
In the American trial the effect was measured during 9 weeks of treatment, at the 0.5 mg dose. In the Danish trial the main result was assessed after 26 weeks.
Do other GLP-1 drugs also act on alcohol?
The 2025 meta-analysis found the strongest data for semaglutide and liraglutide. The BMJ analysis of veterans covered the whole group of GLP-1 drugs.
Sources
- Hendershot CS, Bremmer MP, Paladino MB et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 2025, 82(4): 395-405. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4789
- Klausen MK, Justesen SK, Pedersen JN et al. Once-weekly semaglutide versus placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet, 2026, 407(10540): 1687-1698. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00305-3
- Wang W, Volkow ND, Berger NA et al. Associations of semaglutide with incidence and recurrence of alcohol use disorder in real-world population. Nature Communications, 2024, 15(1): 4548. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48780-6
- Lähteenvuo M, Tiihonen J, Solismaa A et al. Repurposing Semaglutide and Liraglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 2025, 82(1): 94-98. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3599
- Cai M, Choi T, Xie Y, Al-Aly Z. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of substance use disorders among US veterans with type 2 diabetes: cohort study. BMJ, 2026, 392: e086886. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2025-086886
- Eshraghi R, Ghadimi DJ, Montazerinamin S et al. Effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on alcohol consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 2025, 90: 103645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103645
- Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) injection, prescribing information, DailyMed, June 2026 version. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=adec4fd2-6858-4c99-91d4-531f5f2a2d79