Oh, oh, oh — oh, no.
One TikToker spotted ads for a company that prescribes controversial weight loss injection drugs Wegovy and Ozempic at a New York City subway station — and it is sparking outrage among viewers.
The drugs, which are known to be used among Hollywood celebs, were shown to potentially trigger a deadly side effect in a study published last month, The Post previously reported.
TikToker Sara Morano showed the ads for the company called Ro plastered on the walls and on beams, which she wrote were in the Times Square subway station.
Her video has garnered more than 443,000 views — and Morano told The Post that she shared them because they felt inappropriately “evocative” to her.
In one ad photo, it shows someone injecting the shot into their belly, while another snap on a different wall shows a man putting it into his arm.
One panel of the ad that Morano documented reads, “A weekly shot to lose weight,” in large black text.
In an email to The Post on Monday, Morano explained that she decided to film the ads and post them on TikTok because of their messaging — particularly the photos of the models using the needle to inject themselves.
“The ads carry very few words you can read while passing by, so I felt they were subconsciously trying to influence people towards the product,” Morano wrote.
“It felt empowering to myself and others to put these boards on TikTok where we would have forum to discuss what they meant and accept or reject the ideas being put out there about weight, body image and the use of medicine.”
The creator also noted that she felt the messaging of these ads could be interpreted in the wrong way — that it’s “normal” for everyone to take these injections.
“They also send the message that the bodies of their models, who look like everyday people, are a problem to be solved,” she explained.
Ro is just one of the many providers that can give you access to these weight-loss medications and describe themselves as a “direct-to-consumer telehealth company that handles everything from diagnosis to the convenient delivery of medication.”
For their “Body Program,” they connect you with a Ro provider to talk about your health history and require you to take a lab test in order to see if it’s right for you, according to their website.
They advertise that patients could lose, on average, 15% of their body weight with the medication, noting the clinical trials.
Potential patients would receive one-on-one support with a provider, and it costs just $135 per month to join after the initial $99 introduction promo.
The Post reached out to Ro for comment.
While Morano acknowledged that the medicine could be life-changing for some, she also noted that there are other issues that can come along with it.
“There are a lot of mental, physical and social health issues that seem to correlate with size and weight, so I can understand why people want Ozempic for weight loss,” she wrote to The Post. “I think everyone should be skeptical and research before seeking out this solution though.”
The creator continued, “I think medical professionals also have a responsibility to buffer the hype around Ozempic. I personally would seek out making other changes before Ozempic, but I think people have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.”
In the comments section of her TikTok video, many users seemed to agree with Morano’s take on the weight-loss drug.
“Adverts like this feel unethical and idk if it should be legal,” one viewer lamented.
Another wrote, “And people wonder why America has a prescription drug problem with companies are allowed to advertise to the public.”
“It’s the 90s again,” someone else observed.
In the past few months, the injectables have come under fire for their rampant use and potentially harmful side effects.
The drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, were first intended to be used to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes and are made up of a peptide called semaglutide, which mimics a hormone called GLP-1 that is found naturally in your small intestine.
The meds make the person taking them feel fuller for longer, as it slows down digestion — which can lead to weight loss, as you’re eating less.
In March, Texas-based Dr. Peter Attia claimed that he was seeing patients lose muscle mass at an alarming rate while taking the drug.
“Almost without exception, every patient we’ve put on this drug has lost muscle mass,” he claimed in a video. “And they have lost it at a rate that alarms me.”
Researchers out of China also found that there could be an “increased risk” of getting an intestinal obstruction when taking these medications.
Twitter hotshot Elon Musk has admitted to taking Wegovy, as well as comedian Chelsea Handler, who claimed she was taking Ozempic without even knowing it.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
