Posted on 09/10/2003 12:29:38 PM PDT by Wolfie
SMOKING VACCINE 'A STEP CLOSER'
Early trials of a vaccine which could help people to give up smoking are proving promising, say scientists.
Xenova, the British-based company behind the vaccine, which may also help cocaine addicts, started testing it two years ago.
Dr Campbell Bunce, a scientist at the company, told the British Association science festival at Salford University that the vaccine had proved safe and well-tolerated.
It works by stopping nicotine or cocaine from entering the brain.
Stop Cravings
As a result, these drugs are no longer able to stimulate the reward centres in the brain that cause cravings.
The vaccine prompts the body's immune system to create antibodies which bind nicotine or cocaine in a person's bloodstream, preventing it from travelling into the brain.
It could be given to people who are having problems kicking their smoking or cocaine habit.
In theory, it could also be given to young children to prevent them from taking up these habits in the first place.
"You can imagine it being used by parents of adolescents, who might want their children to be protected against a drug-taking habit," said Dr Bunce.
"That is something with ethical considerations that we would have to consider."
The vaccine has so far proved safe to use on both smokers and cocaine users.
Scientists are now planning to test how effective it is. Trials on cocaine users are expected to start later this month.
However, cocaine users have reported that the immunisation reduced the sense of euphoria they felt after taking the drug.
Relapse
Dr Bunce said he did not envisage the vaccine stamping out cravings for cigarettes straight away. Nor would it alleviate the withdrawal symptoms associated with giving up smoking, such as anxiety and depression.
But the vaccine could help to ensure that people who quit never take the habit up again.
"Often an ex-smoker will relapse at a party, in a moment of weakness," said Dr Bunce.
"Hopefully, the presence of these antibodies will reduce the hit of the cigarette and that desire for another cigarette will be significantly blunted."
One possible concern, he said, was that people might be tempted to smoke more to get the same "buzz" they were used to. It is not yet known whether this could happen.
A spokesman from the anti-smoking group ASH said it would welcome the introduction of a vaccine to help people kick the habit.
"People who try to give up smoking can find it very difficult," he told BBC News Online.
"A vaccine could help these people or people who have consistently failed to give up.
"But as long as it is safe, it should be seen as an extension of the existing nicotine replacement therapies.
"We would not support vaccinating people to stop them from smoking."
We're cured! We're cured! Now, if they could just take the pleasure out of sex...
Talk to my ex-wife. She discovered how to do that 20 years ago.
Bet you they're working on it.
Marriage is the traditional way to do that.
Well it doesn’t really matter how many people continue to die a year from cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, AIDS, West Nile, Parkinson’s, etc. If this vaccine just keeps one kid from taking up smoking the money that could have been spent on finding a cure/treatment for those diseases would be worth it.
smoking doesn't give you a buzz. The only thing there is is smoke. I know I tried it and it was a total waste of money. I bought and smoked a carton once waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. I should've demanded a refund. I would've been better off sticking my head in front of a camfire and inhaling better smelling smoke for free. Weed is 100 times better and I don't bother unless it's good. Smokers are getting ripped the *uck off. I do understand the addiction to alcohol and drugs. You actually get results for your money.
How can anyone become addicted to this tobacco crap? It can't be because it feels good because it doesn't feel like anything. Anybody who needs to smoke a cigarette every hour or half hour needs their head examined. Compared to herion smoking cigarettes is about as appealing or addictive as chewing on a toothpick I can tell you that much.
I think I need to secretly give this vaccine to my brother. He must've been brainwashed somehow that is the only explanation for being controlled by these lame pansy tobacco products.
There a much simpler method, stop ingesting the stuff.
"Disulfiram (Antabuse) plus even small amounts of alcohol produces flushing, throbbing in head and neck, throbbing headache, respiratory difficulty, nausea, copious vomiting, sweating, thirst, chest pain, palpitation, dyspnea, hyperventilation, tachycardia, hypotension, syncope, marked uneasiness, weakness, vertigo, blurred vision, and confusion. In severe reactions, there may be respiratory depression, cardiovascular collapse, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, acute congestive heart failure, unconsciousness, convulsions, and death."
Needless to say, you've got to be serious about quitting alcohol before taking this stuff.
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