Nicotine Vaccine Could Help People Quit Smoking for Good
Each year more than 40 percent of smokers try to stop smoking, yet less than five percent succeed in quitting for three months or more. The University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center is now starting a clinical trial of what could be a revolutionary way to curb the desire to smoke—a vaccine called Nicvax.
Dr. Dorothy Hatsukami heads the tobacco use research center at the University of Minnesota.
“Will power is not sufficient,” said Hatsukami. “You need some tools to help you get over the highly addictive nature of nicotine.”
She says that unlike the patch and gum which give smokers a small dose of nicotine to help cut the cravings, the vaccine actually stops the nicotine from making it to your brain.
“The way the nicotine vaccine works is, you can have a cigarette and it's just no longer reinforcing.”
The vaccine is being developed by Nabi Pharmaceuticals. The University is one of 20 research facilities participating in the phase three trial, which is the final step before FDA approval.
Participants will be in the study for about a year and will receive six injections over the course of six months.
