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GLP-1s Could Be A Breakthrough Treatment For Addiction

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Small Bite
December 13, 2024

Hey Small Biters,

The United States has an addiction crisis. Smoking kills 480,000 people a year, alcohol another 178,000, and opiate overdoses more than 100,000, up 500% since 2000. That’s over three-quarters of a million people every year, far outnumbering those killed by heart disease and cancer, before taking into account how much heart disease and cancer is caused by addiction.

In dollars spent and lives lost, addiction is the most destructive public-health issue in America. It creates a staggering financial impact on the country. A CDC and Joint Economic Committee effort estimated that the opioid epidemic alone cost nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020, and recent studies indicated a $600 billion bill for smoking and $250 billion for alcohol. 

Despite that, addiction-treatment options can be unappealing, ineffective, difficult to adhere to, or nonexistent. Methadone, a popular treatment for opioid-use disorder, requires getting a daily dose at a clinic. Naltrexone, prescribed for opioid- or alcohol-use disorders, means taking a pill every day or a monthly shot. Given options like these, perhaps it’s no surprise that only 3% of people with substance-abuse disorders receive any medication. There is no FDA-approved treatment for methamphetamine or cocaine-use disorder. Small clinical trials and larger studies of patients prescribed GLP-1s for other symptoms have shown promising results when it comes to addiction treatment.

  • Travelers with Apple AirTags in their checked bags can now share location data through the United Airlines app.

  • The feature is intended to help the airline's customer service team track down lost bags more quickly.

  • Apple’s new iOS 18.2 update includes a "Share Item Location" feature that allows data sharing with third parties. 

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