Human Trials Of Anti-Smoking Vaccine Begin

Makarand writes "A Nicotine vaccine that may help smokers to quit has made it to human trials. The vaccine is administered as a series of eight shots -- patients receive two shots per visit during four different visits. The vaccine works by stimulating the human immune system to produce antibodies that bind with the nicotine molecules to form a larger complex molecule which cannot pass through the blood/brain barrier to get into the brain. As a result smokers will not feel the 'high' from the cigarettes they light up and lose interest in smoking. Preliminary studies have shown that this vaccine is safe in humans." (Each link goes to a slightly different version of the same wire story.)

Comments

There's more than one type of addiction

[Dr Tall]

Maybe this could be used to treat physical addiction, but I don't see how it would help psychological addiction. You can become clinically addicted to something without your body being dependent on the substance; you just feel an uncontrolable urge to smoke, not for the high feeling, but just because you always smoke on the way to work, always smoke at parties, etc.

Re:There's more than one type of addiction

[Naerbnic]

The thing is that psychological addiction is also due to a chemical effect of the drug on your body. Physical addiction is strictly because of a pleasurable sensation of a drug on your brain. IIRC, This is drugs like Cocaine, which give you a definite "high". Nicotine, while not giving a noticable high, is still extremely habit forming, since it changes the chemistry of the body. When you stop smoking, the amount of dopamine (a chemical used to transmit nerve impulses) in your body drops, often lower than what it was before you started smoking. After you smoke, dopamine levels increase in your body (either that, or nicotine fools your body into thinking there's more dopamine). In any case, your body craves some sort of normal levels of dopamine. Since cigarettes give you that, you have a huge urge to smoke. If the dopamine increase effect of nicotine is cancelled (apparently what this drug is attempting to do), your body loses the connecting between smoking and high dopamine levels. Thus over time, your body begins producing more dopamine naturally, until you no longer crave cigarettes.

And just as a precaution, IANA Medical Professional.

Re:Only a matter of time before it's mandatory

[jchristopher]

And don't give me any of that "your second-hand smoke hurts me" crap, as we all know that's a load of crap.

That's a load if I ever saw one. Go have a look at the incidence of childhood asthma among children with parents who smoke versus those who don't. Come back and let us know what you find.

Consider that the University of Wisconsin medical school estimates annual health care costs of $4.6 billion for treating the asthma, ear, and respiratory infections of kids living in smoking households.

I watched my girlfriend suffer for years living with a smoking parent. When they finally quit, the immediate improvement in her health was remarkable. Smoking affects no one but the smoker? Give me a break.

Re:Help

[Red Rocket]

Bupropion. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Also sold under the name Zyban.