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Should I start taking Ozempic? I found myself pondering this question recently as I walked past a local shop I like to call the Dopamine Store.
The Dopamine Store, the first shop I pass as I turn onto my local high street in Zone 2, doesn’t seem to have a name, unless you count the words VAPE TOBACCO SWEET DRINK SNACK emblazoned in neon above its entrance. I call it the Dopamine Store because not a single product it sells contains anything nourishing to the human body or mind. Every last one of them was created to hijack the brain’s dopamine reward system and trigger a craving for more.
On a good day, I fix my eyes straight ahead and walk right past. You see, as a recovering heroin addict who picks up compulsive behaviours the way a sponge soaks up water (that’s a whole other story), at some point I’ve been addicted to pretty much everything in it.
I’ve been addicted at least three different brands of the vapes that make up the dazzling multicoloured display behind the counter; my attempts to stop vaping have often led me to become addicted to the sweets, chocolates and crisps lining one wall; and my efforts to quit those have led me to become addicted to the fizzy drinks (both the high-sugar and “diet” versions) in the fridge on the other wall. I’ve never been addicted to the caffeinated “energy” drinks that seem to be a speciality of the Dopamine Store (I’m too scared to see what would happen if I tried them); but for a while recently I did become addicted to the duty-free Marlboro Lights they sell illegally under the counter, figuring they might help me quit the vapes I originally started using to help me quit Marlboro Lights.
I don’t qualify for an Ozempic prescription because, despite my frequent late-night sorties into the Dopamine Store, I’m not overweight (I’m addicted to the gym). But it’s not impossible that that one day could change. New research suggests drugs like Ozempic may help reduce not just overeating but alcohol and drug abuse. And many people who take them have reported significant reductions in compulsive behaviours like gambling, shopping and smoking.
Despite these encouraging signs, semaglutide-based drugs don’t appear to be a magic bullet cure for addiction — at least, not yet. But recently I’ve been asking myself: what if they were? What if it turned out that the next generation of Ozempic-like drugs was an antidote not just for overeating but all compulsive behaviours? What would happen to the world we’ve created?
Here’s my theory: very quickly, everything would fall apart. Whole industries would collapse. The economy would hit rock bottom. Individually and collectively, we’d have to figure out how to rehabilitate ourselves.
That’s because we live in a world of what the historian David Courtwright calls “limbic capitalism”: an economic system that drives profit by capturing the part of our brains responsible for emotions, rewards and behaviour — regardless of the havoc it wreaks on our bodies and minds. Notice this is the exact opposite of the way we’re taught capitalism is supposed to work: via a free market of rational individuals making informed decisions.
For a beautiful example of limbic capitalism, take a recent promotion from Pizza Hut, which offered online customers free bets at gambling websites. In other words: as a reward for buying an addictive food via an addictive device, you were able to indulge in a notoriously addictive behaviour on a platform optimised for addiction.
The notion that the gambling industry relies on addiction isn’t just a hunch: a report from the Gambling Commission shows that, without “problem gamblers”, betting companies literally couldn’t turn a profit. Everybody knows the slogan “Please gamble responsibly” is a sick joke: if customers were actually able to adhere to it, the industry would vanish into thin air. They might as well sell heroin in packages bearing the same disclaimer.
But, in terms of both market value and the social harm it causes, gambling is just a street-corner dealer compared with the Mexican cartel of the modern food industry. As the author Johann Hari points out in his recent book Magic Pill, Ozempic and similar drugs are an artificial solution to an artificial problem: a health crisis created by western countries’ transition, since the Seventies, from a diet based on fresh food to one based on industrially manufactured food that confuses your body’s sense of satiety and keeps you eating when you’re full — that turns you, in other words, into an addict. The results can be measured in our expanded waistlines: nearly a third of UK adults are obese (up threefold among women and fivefold among men since 1980) and nearly two thirds are overweight, dramatically increasing their risk of everything from heart attacks and strokes to diabetes and cancer. The corporations responsible for this state of affairs are, quite literally, making a killing.
Still, it wasn’t until each of us started carrying a miniature Dopamine Store around with us at all times that limbic capitalism finally took over the world. The flashing, buzzing little Pavlovian machines in our pockets were designed by people who studied how slot machines overstimulate our brains’ reward centres to keep us hooked. As the psychologist Jonathan Haidt convincingly shows, the evidence that smartphones and social media are causing major societal and psychological harm — particularly among young people — is now too strong to ignore. Some researchers even argue that they’re responsible for a general decline in western countries’ average IQ over the last decade: in other words, smartphones are actually making us dumber.
When, as a full-blown smartphone alarmist, I talk to people about the way our devices turn us into addicts, they usually shrug and tell me that they need their iPhone for important things like work, and staying connected to friends and family. This is absolutely true, and it’s also exactly how addiction works: most alcoholics start going to the pub not for the alcohol but to meet the very real human need for connection and community. But over time, the distinction between the two needs gets blurred, until one cannibalises the other — and the alcoholic ends up drinking alone with the curtains drawn. Our age of hyper-connectivity is also one of loneliness and isolation of epidemic proportions. People in the western world have fewer friends than any previous generation, and studies show Britain may be the loneliest country of all.
For every fundamental human need, limbic capitalism provides a dopamine-fuelled answer. Love? Online dating. Sex? Online porn. Play? Online gaming. Intellectual curiosity? Twitter/X. Aesthetic joy? Instagram. (I’m afraid if you want to know what fundamental human need TikTok is supposed to serve, you’ll have to find a member of Gen Z and see if they understand the meaning of the words “fundamental human need”.)
But, for me, the most insidious aspect of limbic capitalism is the way it can turn even health products into new addictions. This category includes not only a plethora of bogus “diet” foods made of chemicals you could use to clean a drain pipe. There’s also the array of meditation, therapy and sleep apps that promise to help reduce the stress that’s exacerbated by the very device you’re using to access them. You could always try turning off your phone instead, of course – but who the hell would ever do that?
Perhaps you’re thinking: sure, it sucks to be an addict in the modern world — but I’m not an addict, and neither are most people. But if you think you’re immune to the effects of limbic capitalism, think again. Modern neuroscience and cognitive psychology teach us that we’re all much less free than we think. As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman has shown, most of our actions are automatic, triggered by environmental stimuli or past experiences and propelled by unconscious motivations. The behavioural engineers who designed your smartphone and the platforms they carry have no time for metaphysical distinctions between “addicts” and “non-addicts”. To them, we are all walking limbic systems, waiting to be exploited.
Although they’re hardly its most pernicious manifestation, for me the evil genius of limbic capitalism is best symbolised by my recent nemesis: the nicotine vape. Vapes show how even what appears to be a genuine miracle cure for addiction can be hacked to create a new cohort of addicted consumers. When I first tried them 10 years ago, I was amazed to find I could quit cigarettes at a stroke. But before long manufacturers started making single-use vapes full of candy-like flavours in colourful packaging (irresistible to teenagers and, unfortunately, 40-year-old men like me). Now vapes create blood nicotine concentrations at much higher levels than the cigarettes they were meant to replace; I wasn’t joking when I said I have tried taking up Marlboro Lights again to help me quit vaping.
If Ozempic 2.0 does come along, cure all addictions and thereby abolish modern capitalism, will that be such a bad thing? On the one hand, it will presumably cause untold economic destruction. On the upside, it might help solve the teen mental health crisis, raise our IQs, force us to rediscover authentic sources of meaning and connection, and compel us to build a society based on something other than short-term gratification.
Until then, if the Marlboro Lights method doesn’t stop me from scurrying into the Dopamine Store for yet more candyfloss flavoured Elf Bar vapes in 2025 – well, I suppose I could always try taking up heroin again.
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SubscribeThe hope for drugs like ozempic is they truncate desire at the point it becomes addiction. But I don’t believe they are sufficiently pharmacologically tuned to achieve that lofty goal.
Ozempic, and its kin, are desire killers. If a universal ozempic was discovered it would likely kill desires as fundamental as seeking human companionship. Indeed, can’t the human need for companionship reasonably be called an addiction? Even Tom Hanks’s character in the movie Cast Away made a human simulacrum out of an old volleyball.
A universal ozempic would likely eradicate romantic life, marital life, community life, and religion. It would be the ultimate lobotomy.
As the Buddha said “desire is at the root of all unhappiness” so maybe Ozempic being a desire killer is a good thing.
Buddha didn’t manage it then, look at the big belly.
He didn’t desire gluttony, it just happened.
You are thinking of Budai not the Buddha. Different guy.
My experience of Wegovy (Ozempic) is that i doesn’t kill the desire to eat, only the desire to overeat. I look forward to eating and drinking as much as I ever did but I cannot face excessive portions of food anymore. As a result I have a healthy weight and normal blood pressure for the first time in years. It does also curb my desire to drink too much – I have one or two drinks but never/ rarely to the point of drunkenness.
Better stick with the heroin…..
The trouble with heroin is that it is very moorish.
Are you thinking of the opium pipe?
I appreciate that the author comes from a perspective of addiction to heroin, which undoubtedly skews his viewpoint. My own experience is that most of us can indulge in most things (even illicit drugs) without sinking into addiction (and I say that having tried most of them).
I suspect you are right.
A rant worthy of my father in law. I have failed to become addicted to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or gambling, despite the odd foray. It’s not the things it’s the personality.
Self control. It’s hard to develop, but it solves many, many problems.
Anybody who down voted this anodyne comment is a fool…
I’m somewhat baffled you read this piece as a ‘rant’. What was it in the writing that make you feel that way? I didn’t get that sense at all. In fact, I found it witty and, in parts, amusing. Like you, I’m not an addict and never have been – and as it happens, don’t even own a smartphone. So I don’t naturally relate to the writer’s experiences. But I found this piece well-written, engaging and incisive; it opened up a new perspective to me. In fact, I ended up looking up the author’s book and it looks a promising read. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
I read it as a rant towards society and his inability to regulate his impulses within our society. Blaming society rather than himself.
Agreed. We could use a bit more wit and humor in our cultural criticisms.
Someone once said “The angels can fly because that take themselves lightly.” Now that there’s the first hint of positive change in the air we should take that lesson to heart.
“Addictive personality” is real.
Western society is sleep-walking towards drug- induced passivity. The worlds of Orwell´s 1984 and Zemyatin´s We are not far away. We shall arrive at a point when it will be considered illegal not to be drugged, able and willing to be manipulated.
And yet governments make the drugs that are the most fun illegal….
Brave New World is the more obvious analogy, with the population drugged on soma.
While you raise a lot of valid points, a lot of them are very country specific and somewhat UK specific. The UK has some of the worst obesity rates in Western Europe, the worst gambling addiction problems in Europe and is somewhere near the top of the list in drink and drug addiction. The argument isnt a one size fits all across all countries.
The UK food and online gambling industries are allowed to literally destroy peoples lives at will because no one has ever held them to account, in fact no one at a government level has ever really had the spine to admit what the problem actually is and take action.
I write this as a now sober, former active alcoholic/recreation drug abuser. As with fixing that problem (and any other problem for that matter), the solution lies in admitting what the problem actually is and dealing with it, both on an individual level and at Parliamentary level (all parties have failed so far, including those who have not yet been in government).
the solution lies in admitting what the problem actually is and dealing with it, both on an individual level and at Parliamentary level
Individuals should be free to become addicts if they like. All government should do is make it a bit unpleasant to do so, i.e. no smoking zones, licensing hours, drunk driving laws, etc, and support (not be the sole provider) of treatment/recovery facilities.
Take one new creation and tie it to the death of civilization?
Get some perspective!
To be fair, I think the author makes clear that he was using the fact of Ozempic as a bit of a springboard for a thought experiment, contemplating addiction, contemporary society, human nature and so on, from the perspective of his own experience. I do agree that the hystrionic headline, in particular (which would not have been written by the author) is clickbait, but then one must concede that it fullfilled its function as such: we both read the piece. For me, the article reads as more playful and nuanced than the headline, and does indeed convey a wry sense of perspective on the topic.
Less and less physical labour is required in modern times. This is not good for our bodies in particular if we do not reduce energy intake at the same time. Exercise is an option to increase energy use and Ozempic to reduce energy intake. Both can be addictive and are in fact remedies for the same ill. Getting then upset about Ozempic use seems a bit overdone.
100%. A sedentary lifestyle promotes mental weakness. How could it not. You just sit around in your thoughts all the time pondering things you can’t control.
I’m not in anyway above it but I realize there’s an element of choice that seems like its being ignored in the discussion.
Note to author. Dont believe thry hype. All this ” research ” is basically a sales pitch to drive stock price higger. If you really want to curb addictive behaviour with a substance try microdosing psilopsibin. I microdose regularly and find ot enormously helpful in refreshing the mind and curbing addictive impulses. The corps cant monetise it so they keep it illegal in most places in the western world, they stall trials ( because no placebo possible) etc. etc. Its unbelievable
I microdose regularly and find ot (sic) enormously helpful
So — You are addicted to psilocybin? To the point you can’t spell it seems.
Oh please. Mushrooms were illegal because they made you trip in a Christian society, that was deemed bad. It has nothing to do with economics. But now it does. People want to peddle drugs TO MAKE MONEY. You’re listening to capitalists trying to sell you something. lol.
I’m more of a macro-dose guy myself, but I take your point.
What was breezed over too easily was the asinine gesture designed to limit addiction with the instruction “Please (insert addiction here) responsibly”. The industry loves it because it is so obviously fatuous but makes it look like something is being done. I remember an advert in the Grocer once for a course for licensees on how to encourage punters to double up on their spirits and shots orders, finishing with the obligatory notice “please drink responsibly”
On reading the article, I was smugly congratulating myself on not being a mobile phone addict. But then I realised I was something of a laptop addict, which is almost as bad!
At least one can’t easily lug laptops around everywhere one goes though. But in a few years mobbies will probably have holographic 30″ displays and air-touch keyboards and mice springing into view when they are opened and hovering above them a-la Princess Leia in Star Wars, and in that event they and laptops will become one and the same.
Amazing. Some people can find a negative side to anything.
A few years ago I read a story about the effects of workout apps and wearable tech. One person who was a competitive triathlete said it was great to be able to track his workout performance, chart results, etc. It even helped with monitoring his sleep. He was always optimizing himself. But, and I still laugh about this today, he said it was making him feel, in effect, inadequate as an athlete. He would get positive feedback along with real data. But, every once in a while, the feedback would be something like, ‘Great workout! But not as good as the one you had three days ago.’ It was the same with his sleep. It was hilarious! Here’s this guy who is at a fitness and strength level that most people could never achieve and his app was making him feel like a loser. He knew it, too! But, he was so addicted to the positive feedback that he put up with the negative. I can’t recall, but I think he knew this was by design – make you feel good about yourself, then give you a little results side-eye to make you feel bad so you’ll crave the next good workout review. Tech is great! Especially the wearables!
The opinion expressed by the Gambling Commission that the gambling industry would not exist without ‘problem gamblers’ is wrong.The Gambler Commission has people on it who have never gambled and get their opinions second hand from problem gamblers and the anti-gambling lobby .
The reality is that no more than 5% of regular gamblers are problem gamblers.The other 95 % consist or recreational gamblers of which about 1 in 5 in a given year make a small profit or break even.Big winners get banned except by betting exchanges and poker websites.
The total losses of the 4 out of 5 recreational gamblers who make a loss through the year more than cover the total winnings of the 1 in 5 who make a profit i.e the consequence of removing problem gamblers would reduce gambling firms profits but not completely.
In the case of betting exchanges and online poker websites their business model means they have the scope to make big profits regardless of whether they have problem gamblers or not.
It is not just poor food options expanding waistlines. Governments must address dirty pharmaceuticals prescribed from childhood and adolescence that cause morbid clinical obesity, impacting all organs and functions of the body. Gas lighting of this community within Society helps to keep a lid on it. Fear of reprisals silence people suffering the effects every day they live. Ozempic might help take the weight off but as long as doctors over prescribe the offending pharmaceuticals the problem will continue.
You sound like a candidate for Ozempic addiction.
an economic system that drives profit by capturing the part of our brains responsible for emotions, rewards and behaviour
Did human beings surrender agency at some point? Was the mean capitalist holding guns to consumers’ heads demanding that they buy this, that, and some more? Victim culture is bad enough when applied to identity politics; let’s not broaden that particular umbrella.
Thank you!
This article is written by an addict, so it’s through the eyes of an addict and he’s trying to project his addiction on the rest of us. Hello… not an addict here. And I can tell you, eating, looking at screens, gambling, drinking, etc are not problems for me. I never smoked or vaped and have zero interest. I’m a healthy weight, only gamble once every two to three months, drink on the weekends and have ZERO addictions. So please just stop with this nonsense. Doing something in excess once in a while is normal. I’ve seen people become addicts because they can’t tolerate any flaws in their behavior, so instead of chalking up an excessive night of drinking to one bad night, they see it as a major character flaw and go off the rails. They think they’re either an addict or they have to be sober. They leave zero room in the middle. THIS is what’s wrong with society. Let it go. Perfect doesn’t exist. Moderation is harder to learn than abstinence. But moderation is healthier than abstinence. Abstinence fails and over indulging happens again. Learn to be normal and stop obsessing. Life becomes easier instantly.
My addiction is Vietnamese beef noodle soup, “Pho”. I have to have it at least 1-2 times per week.
Yeah, but have you tried it intravenously?
Fortunately, UnHerd shows no signs of becoming addictive unless you’re a junior professor somewhere hoping to burst out of obscurity, making your fellow academics hate you more than they already do.
It’s not hard to buck all this; I have never smoked or taken drugs, apart from alcohol which I dumped entirely 19 years ago. I don’t eat crap food or drink fizzy drinks apart from water. I don’t have an iPhone. I don’t gamble. Neither do I believe in fantasy supernatural beings.
I do drink coffee, and a fair bit.
People should stop whinging and man up. Blaming everything on evil corporations is another addiction.
I love pizza, but I don’t feel compelled to eat unhealthy amounts of it. Same for wine and beer. I have never seen any points in smoking or vaping at all. I exercise feee economic choice based on my reading of publicly available scientific information.
The worst possible world I can imagine is one in which economic choices are forced upon me by addicts. Cure addiction, not capitalism.
The essay was worth it just to learn the phrase “limbic capitalism”.
To be sure: Unherd can be addictive too. Even serious online media is part of the limbic economy.