British Columbia is bringing in a new regulation immediately to ensure diabetes patients don't face a shortage of the drug Ozempic, touted by celebrities for its weight loss side effects.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the change will ensure patients in B.C. and Canada needing Ozempic to treat their Type 2 diabetes will continue to have access to that drug and others that may require it in the future.

Dix says the regulation will help prevent online or mail-order sales of Ozempic to people who do not live in Canada and who are not in B.C. to make a purchase.

The new regulation comes after the discovery that about 15 per cent of Ozempic prescriptions were being filled at two Vancouver locations for shipment to the United States.

Earlier this month, the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons suspended the licence of a doctor living in the United States who is believed to have written thousands of prescriptions for Ozempic, a drug some patients are seeking to help with weight loss.

The government says the BC College of Pharmacists will be responsible for ensuring its registrants comply with the new regulation.