Due to the shortage of Ozempic, a diabetes drug which people are also now using to lose weight, Belgians are flocking to pharmacies just over the Dutch and French borders.
Following the announcement that Belgium's Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke will soon (temporarily) put a stop to Ozempic being prescribed to people with a BMI below 35, many users have started hoarding the drug – which only worsens the shortage.
The drug, intended for patients with type 2 diabetes but incredibly popular and effective for people who want to lose weight, is often prescribed for several months. Many users are now trying to stock up on their prescriptions, and are even heading abroad to do so.
"We see a lot of Belgians in our shop," Willemien Louws of Apotheek Oostburg, a Dutch town very close to the Belgian border, told Gazet van Antwerpen. "We are currently running out of stock. But when we stock Ozempic, we sell to Belgians. For their prescription, we cannot see why they may take it. For that, we rely on their GP."
Taking products from those who need them
At a pharmacy in the Dutch town of Maastricht, Belgians have almost no chance of getting the drug. "In the Netherlands, Ozempic is not prescribed for obese people, we have Saxenda for that. So it would be a bit strange for us to sell a product for our clients with diabetes to Belgians with obesity. We always ask why they were prescribed Ozempic. Pharmacists in the Netherlands are allowed to do that."
In France, Ozempic is considerably cheaper: €77 for four syringes, compared to €103 in Belgium. And unlike in the Netherlands, pharmacists cannot tell from the prescription whether a client is diabetic or obese – meaning they cannot refuse.
"Belgians coming to buy Ozempic here are taking products from people who really need them," one pharmacist told the newspaper. "Some tell us they have been scouring pharmacies for hours for Ozempic."
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Due to the Ozempic shortage, however, every pharmacist in the north of France seems to have their own policy: some will sell the product to anyone with a prescription, others refuse to sell to foreign nationals. Some even refuse to sell to French people who are not in their regular customer base.
While the Order of Pharmacists knows about the trend, they do not have exact figures of 'Ozempic tourism'. In any case, buying the drug abroad is not forbidden: with a doctor's prescription, people are allowed to go anywhere in the European Union.
"But hoarding is not a good idea anyway," said spokesperson Michäel Storme. "People only need one box per month, it makes no sense to stock up for three months. They are only compounding the problem and making it harder to control. I think people should be patient; Ozempic is still being delivered to pharmacies."
