Avi Blizovsky
A new study states that an experimental vaccine, which causes the body to produce antibodies against nicotine, prevents most of it from penetrating the brain cells and affecting the pleasure center. This process reduces the sense of pleasure that smokers crave and thus disrupts the process of nicotine addiction. The first results of the study show that 38% of the participants who received the high-dose vaccine stopped smoking for at least one month after the experiment. The study lasted 38 weeks and was conducted among 68 smokers, who stated that they had no intention of quitting smoking. The study of the experimental vaccine called NicVax was conducted by the Center for Tobacco Use Research at the University of Minnesota and its results were published in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
The Cancer Society emphasizes that "Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the world. Every year in Israel about 10,000 people die from diseases related to smoking, such as cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases, about 1,500 of them die from passive smoking. Smoking, in addition to its health damage, is an expensive habit. A person who smokes one pack of cigarettes every day, on an annual basis, "burns" thousands of shekels, which he could have used for other needs. The close environment of the smoker also suffers from the harm of smoking and many studies have shown that passive smokers have a high risk of contracting diseases similar to the smoker himself, especially small children and pregnant women who are exposed to cigarette smoke. There are many reasons to stop smoking, but smoking addiction is one of the most serious addictions known to the medical world, and many studies even compare it to addiction to hard drugs. Despite the difficulty, over the years several ways and means have been developed to quit smoking, such as nicotine substitutes, which are sold without a doctor's prescription and even a prescription drug that is already being marketed and another drug that is in the registration process. We welcome any investment by pharmaceutical companies in research and development in the field of detoxification, which will help smokers overcome their severe addiction, and this, of course, after the treatment has been tested, scientifically proven and approved for use by the competent authorities. We clarify that it is desirable that drug treatment for smoking cessation be accompanied by behavioral treatment as well. Every drug requires intelligent use, therefore the success rates of quitting smoking are better when the process is also accompanied by participation in a support group and the guidance of experts, who respond to the psychological and behavioral aspect of smoking addiction, in addition to the physiological response provided by the drug. We estimate that the vaccine will be in use in about three years."
Association to fight cancer
For news about the study in Forbes
Cancer research expert
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