Nicotine vaccine goes on trial - profound development says ASH, if it can be made to work
ASH press release
Monday 10 September 2001
Nicotine vaccine - profound development
Responding to news of trialsof a nicotine vaccine by Xenova:
Clive Bates, Director of ASHresponded enthusiastically:
"A nicotine vaccine would be a profounddevelopment, which would effectively become one of the most important medicinesin the response to cancer, lung and heart disease. By helping people toquit smoking we can tackle about 50 different diseases related to smokingbefore they can actually occur.
"About a third of smokers, or 4 million people,try to quit each year, but the vast majority relapse within days or weeks andstart to smoke again. If a vaccine helped reduce the relapse rate, then itcould change everything. If smokers could quit when they wanted to - and mostdo want to - then the tobacco companies would be dead in the water.
"As we understand it, the vaccine blocksnicotine from reaching the brain - smokers would still feel nicotine withdrawalsymptoms but would not be able to relieve them with nicotine. It would be a bitlike putting the cigarettes out of reach and then gritting your teeth while thewithdrawal takes its course.
But ASH also sounded note ofcaution...
"This is early days, the trial is about thesafety not the effectiveness of the treatment, and sometimes hype can concealjust how far there is to go. No-one should hold back from trying to quit now inthe hope there will be a magic potion in a few years."
Contact: Clive Bates: 020 7739 5902 (office)077 6879 1237 (mobile). ISDN Available.
