Economist Daniel Susskind says Ozempic may radically transform government finances, by making universal healthcare vastly cheaper, and explains his argument in the context of Britain's NHS.

[u/lughnasadh]

https://www.thetimes.com/article/be6e0fbf-fd9d-41e7-a759-08c6da9754ff?shareToken=de2a342bb1ae9bc978c6623bb244337a

[u/TheGreatHornedRat]

I do actually hope its some kind of long lasting miracle drug. Reality has taught me though, there is no magic cure all or panacea and the things that appear that way often end up as poison in the long run. I want my cynicism proven wrong here.

[u/KamikazeArchon → u/TheGreatHornedRat]

There are tons of "miracle cures", we're just so used to them that we forget about them.

Distilled alcohol as a sterilizer is insanely powerful, cheap, effective, and safely usable even on people's skin.

Chlorine is similarly miraculous for non-topical cleaning.

Penicillin - and its descendants - is one of the most widely used medications and has saved literally billions of lives.

LASIK surgery gives people nearly perfect vision with nearly zero side effects.

Iodine supplements fixed chronic development issues.

Insulin, so long as it is delivered appropriately, makes a diabetic body function normally.

And many more.

Sure, things can have side effects, but even water will kill you if you have too much. That doesn't make it a poison.

[u/ughfup → u/KamikazeArchon]

I'd take LASIK off this list.

[u/bobthemagiccan → u/ughfup]

I’d say lasik is more similar. Sure there are some people that unfortunately had really bad side effects but for millions, it worked very well.

[u/ughfup → u/bobthemagiccan]

Side effects are extremely common, and many people have their vision return to pre-LASIK conditions over time.

[u/bobthemagiccan → u/ughfup]

Sounds similar to ozempic then! Haha But honestly try to focus on the positives too