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Speaker 1: Right. So the big health news today is that the

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Speaker 1: WHO is essentially calling for the funding of weight loss

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Speaker 1: drugs like Wagovian or Zepic for people who would otherwise

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Speaker 1: not be able to afford it, so basically make it

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Speaker 1: not just for the rich but for the poor as well.

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Speaker 1: Who doesn't actually say governments should be the ones funding

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Speaker 1: the drugs. An alternative interpretation of what they've said is

8
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Speaker 1: that the people who make the drugs should drop the

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Speaker 1: price to make them more affordable. But that's obviously not

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Speaker 1: going to happen because profits. So you can probably assume

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Speaker 1: the bill lands with governments around the world. Now that's

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Speaker 1: a nice idea, and given how effective these drugs are

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Speaker 1: in dropping weight off people, it would probably make a

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Speaker 1: massive difference to the obesity rates in New Zealand. But

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Speaker 1: it is simply not affordable for New Zealand. We have

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Speaker 1: done the numbers before on the show. I'll run you

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Speaker 1: through them again. Okay, the drugs cost five hundred dollars

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Speaker 1: a month. There are one point five million dollars million

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Speaker 1: Kiwis who are considered obese. If we funded these drugs

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Speaker 1: for all the OBEs p people in this country at

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Speaker 1: the moment, it would cost this country nine billion dollars

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Speaker 1: a year. Nine billion dollars is what we pay for

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Speaker 1: all of our jails and the staff who run them,

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Speaker 1: the Ministry of Justice, the whole court system, right customs,

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Speaker 1: and our police force and our entire defense force. That

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Speaker 1: is how much money nine billion dollars is. It is

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Speaker 1: not affordable for us. It's not a one off either.

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Speaker 1: You don't just pay for it for a year and

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Speaker 1: everybody's fat problems are solved and on we go with life,

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Speaker 1: and everybody can eat what they want to. These drugs,

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Speaker 1: according to the who are meant for long term use.

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Speaker 1: So that's nine billion dollars every single year. And the

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Speaker 1: minute these people come off the drugs, they get fat again, right,

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Speaker 1: so you have to keep funding it. Not a chance.

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Speaker 1: Here's the happy news, though. These drugs come off patent,

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Speaker 1: will start coming off patent in about three months through

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Speaker 1: four months time, which means that in short order you

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Speaker 1: can expect to buy knockoffs for knockoff prices, which means

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Speaker 1: punters who want to lose weight should be able to

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Speaker 1: fund it themselves. And that is ultimately where the buck

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Speaker 1: should stop. Isn't it for more? From hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

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Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talk SETB from four pm weekdays,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio