Scientists create vaccine for nicotine

[Cohiba Stevie]

Nicotine Vaccine Takes All the Fun Out of Smoking

By Leslie Horn, (Gizmodo)

Sometimes you want to smoke when you drink. Somewhere down the road, that turns into always smoking when you drink. Eventually that turns into just smoking. Cigarettes can be a tough habit to kick. But smokers might soon have some help. Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York have cooked up a possible vaccine for nicotine dependency.

Unfortunately for your buzz, but thankfully for your lungs, the vaccine takes all the relaxation, all the joy out of your nic fix. Tested in mice, it blocks the effects of nicotine before they can hit the heart and the brain. So it's as if you never puffed on that cig. (Cut to a clip of a pack of mangy mice puffing on Marlboros in the back alley of a doll-sized bar).

This vaccine could be given to a person once in his or her life, and it would rid them of the addictive properties of nicotine forever, taking away most of the pleasure of smoking. They could still suck on a tobacco stick occasionally, but it would be by choice, not out of necessity. It might sound like a "no fun" shot, but for those who have struggled to quit, it could be quite helpful. And, hey, you can still smoke once in a while when you throw one back. [C-Health via PopSci]

Image credit: Kuzma/Shutterstock

[Professor Twain]

Interesting idea. But I've poked around a bit, the treatment apparently didn't do well in clinical trials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NicVAX

There could also be all sorts of possibilities for side effects. Unknown consequences. Like a lot of science actual application may not really pan out.

[cottierm]

And so we will still have to fight nicotine the hard way then. Poor me.

Best,

Michel