As Ozempic use grows, poison centre calls in Canada jump for injectable weight-loss drugs

At least three provinces have reported an increase in calls to poison control related to semaglutide and liraglutide drugs, diabetes medication also used for weight-loss.

As drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy rise in popularity, there have been increased calls about injectable drugs often used for weight loss to some poison control centres in parts of Canada, according to data gathered by Global News.

These come from people experiencing adverse side effects from the medications, or even what some officials consider an “overdose.” Global News reached out to Canada’s provinces and territories about whether there was a rise in calls to poison control centres amid increased calls reported in the U.S.

At least three provinces — Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba — have each reported an increased number of calls involving semaglutide, Ozempic’s generic name, to its poison control centres this year, with each seeing more than a 50-per-cent increase compared to 2022, though the numbers do not specify if the calls are from diabetes users or those taking it for weight loss.

In Ontario and Manitoba, the tallies include reports for both semaglutide and liraglutide, which is used to treat diabetes but has also been approved for weight-loss use, and neither provided further breakdowns.

Manitoba, according to Shared Health, saw a 200-per-cent increase between 2022 and 2023, though the numbers themselves remain low with  calls rising from two to six. Those numbers had also been at two and zero per year dating back to 2019.

Quebec has seen a gradual increase since 2020, when 13 calls were reported, with a more than 80-per-cent jump this year, with 54 calls.

The province also noted that the majority of cases each year were therapeutic errors — often considered an error in dosing or in dispensing, according to the Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International. In 2023, 33 cases were classified as such while the province noted the remainder were mainly “intentional overdose and intentional misuse.”

And in Ontario, the number of calls jumped by about 55 per cent to 84 in 2023 from 54 in 2022, after a gradual increase the previous three years, though the Ontario Poison Centre advised the calls were related to not just semaglutide but also liraglutide, another diabetes medication.