Stop Smoking Vaccine
Smoking causes so much illness and many premature deaths, that there is a constant search for new methods to
help smokers kick the habit.
A vaccine to stop smoking will soon be available - does this sound too good to be true? It does indeed sound
like the answer to every smoker's dream, and the good news is that a vaccine is now in production and reaching the
final stages of clinical trials.
NicVAX , short for nicotine vaccine is the name of the new anti-smoking vaccine, being produced in the US
and this is the most advanced development in stop smoking vaccines to date, although several other companies are
working on their own versions of the vaccine.
How Does the Stop Smoking Vaccine Work?
The NicVAX vaccine works by preventing nicotine reaching the brain and so eliminating the high resulting from a
nicotine hit which sis what smokers crave. So smoking should lose its appeal when it no longer delivers a buzz.
However, the effects of the vaccine don't last for ever and so regular top-ups will be needed. But trials so far
have proved effective and the plan is to give a number of injections over a 12 month period, by which time the
patient should be out of the danger-zone and therefore unlikely to start smoking again. It is expected that the
vaccine will be on the market in the near future.
There are some side effects which have been observed in smokers enrolled in the trials. These include redness
around the injection site and flu like symptoms, which disappear after about 24 hours.
How Effective is the Stop Smoking Vaccine?
Studies so far indicate that smokers who used the stop smoking vaccine, stopped smoking for at least six months
and that over 30% of them didn't start smoking again. It is still early days and the long term results and health
effects are not known.
So although the vaccine is not yet available to the general public, it could soon represent an alternative
method of stopping smoking, which could lead to more lives saved from smoking related illnesses in the future and
which may work for many who have been unsuccessful in stopping smoking by other means.
If you would like more information about the stop smoking vaccine, you can read more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NicVAX
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