A Vaccine for Quitting Smoking

vaccine for quitting smoking

Vaccine for Quitting Smoking

A vaccine for quitting smoking may seem to be science fiction but addiction to nicotine is the major problem smokers face when trying to quit, but now it seems as though it may be possible to develop just that, a vaccine for quitting smoking .

An article here explains the results of research carried out at the Weill Cornell Medical College. Apparently the vaccine for quitting smoking would block the pleasurable effects of nicotine by producing antibodies. The article says:

 “In studies using mice it was seen that one single shot of the vaccine was enough to stop the nicotine addiction by preventing it from getting to the brain and the heart. The vaccine would have a ‘Pacman-like’ effect and clear the blood of any nicotine before it could have a biological effect on the body.”

 

“At the moment the research has only been done with mice and it is likely that in the future more testing will be done using rats and monkeys. If these tests are shown to be successful then it is likely that human testing will follow.”

Professor Ronald G. Crystal, who has worked with Dr Jim Janda from the Scripps Research Institute, said that:

“This vaccine would be useful to smokers who had quit because should they light up another cigarette they would derive no pleasure from it.”

And the article continues:

“There is a lot of money going into smoking cessation remedies because so many millions of people are chronically addicted to cigarette smoking.  Governments around the world are coming around to the idea that by investing in successful smoking cessation remedies they can improve the financial and physical health of the nation and boost productivity.”

This would be an amazing breakthrough if it comes to fruition. It’s interesting to note however, that governments would only be likely to back this push to improve health if they could envisage an actual monetary gain somewhere along the line.

One would have hoped that governments might be a little more moral in their actions and not just self-serving.

However, a vaccine for smoking would be appreciated for sure by many thousands of people who desperately want to quit the smoking habit but have become so addicted to nicotine that they find it nigh on impossible.

Some smokers resort to nicotine replacement therapies but this only works if you do actually gradually reduce your nicotine consumption, whether you’re using lozenges, patches, or e-cigarettes. A vaccine for quitting smoking would appear to be a better solution.