HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Local doctors are raising red flags about the misuse of breakthrough weight loss drugs flooding the market.

At $6,000 per year, Massachusetts residents are paying more than some people’s rent for weight loss drugs that may need to be taken for life.

“It’s a breakthrough, allowing patients to get something really more effective or get more help to get started, but unfortunately, it has been abused and misused,” said Dr. Yannis Raftopoulos, director of the weight management program at Holyoke Medical Center.

GLP-1s, an innovation originally made to treat diabetes patients, has been making headlines for weight loss in the last few years. The drug has created a new way for patients to lose weight by just injecting it into your skin or taking a pill.

A recent Kaise

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