NHS Scotland spending on weight loss drugs has rocketed, with almost 100,000 prescriptions issued last year for tirzepatide - the drug sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound - at a cost of £20.4m to the taxpayer.
NHS spending on the drug has risen 10-fold in just one year, with each prescription costing the public purse an average of £210.44, with little sign of demand easing. The Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures, first reported by the Telegraph, show the 862 per cent rise in the cost of tirzepatide was by far the largest for any drug prescribed by the NHS north of the Border. A further 300,000 Scots are estimated to be paying for the drug privately.
BMA warning over prescribing budget
Dr Iain Morrison, chairman of the BMA's Scottish committee, said that while weight-loss medication "can have a role to play" for some people it was unrealistic to view it as a solution to the country's obesity crisis.
"The rate of overweight and obese adults in Scotland is one of the highest in the UK and Europe and this undoubtedly has a huge social and economic impact on the nation," he told the Telegraph.
"However, while medication can have a role to play in tackling the issue, the cost to roll weight-loss drugs out to all those who would potentially qualify would be catastrophic to the prescribing budget - as these figures show, the cost to the NHS is already rapidly spiralling. We cannot therefore rely on medication as the only answer."
Surge in semaglutide costs
There was also a surge in the cost of semaglutide - the drug known under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy - with 243,516 prescriptions issued last year. This was a rise of 44.5 per cent compared to the previous year, and a more than threefold increase in two years.
The cost to the public purse of this drug also increased by more than 40 per cent, from nearly £18.7m to £26.7m. Each prescription cost the taxpayer an average of £109.74.
It is estimated 67 per cent of adults in Scotland are overweight compared to 64 per cent in England and Northern Ireland and 61 per cent in Wales. The health problem is thought to cost the country £5.3bn a year. These figures are "disproportionately higher" than other UK nations and among the largest compared to EU member states.
Future projections and government response
PHS has previously warned that "without urgent and sustained intervention" the number of adults who are overweight or living with obesity is set to rise significantly. The agency estimated there will be 3.3 million overweight Scots by 2040 and warned this would pile more pressure on the country's struggling NHS.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have a clear route for licensed medicines, including weight management medicines, to be appraised for their routine use in the NHS in Scotland through the Scottish Medicines Consortium."
"This is based on clinical and cost-effectiveness, ensuring value for both patients and the NHS."
