Introducing a new weapon against smoking: An anti-smoking vaccine, that is designed to stimulate the production of “nicotine” specific antibodies, just like any other vaccines in childhood. The idea is that these nicotine antibodies might block some of nicotine’s reinforcing effects by preventing it from reaching the brain.

Paul Pentel, MD, professor at the University of Minnesota, said a nicotine vaccine has its greatest effect on nicotine distribution in the body during the first few minutes after a dose of nicotine is administered, when the rewarding effects of smoking are greatest.

A study in Psychopharmacology on July 1 suggests that this vaccine may reduce the need and craving for nicotine. Mark LeSage, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota, found that when rats trained to self-administer nicotine were then injected with a nicotine vaccine, they subsequently used less nicotine.

A study was presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in May, showing that smokers who had the highest levels of this nicotinic vaccine were more likely than placebo to achieve smoking cessation. Kathleen M. Kantak, PhD, director of the laboratory of behavioral neuroscience at Boston University in Massachusetts, said achieving high antibody levels in vaccinated individuals will be key and that more research is needed. So far, batches of the experiental nicotine vaccine, developed by Nabi Biopharmaceuticals and Xenova Group appear to be safe, Kantak said.

Drawbacks?
These vaccines will not necessarily address nicotine withdrawal or cravings and work best when used with counseling and possibly in combination with other medications. Another possible problem is that smokers might smoke more cigarettes to overcome the effects of the vaccine, so it seems that only motivated smokers will achieve the best results.

How is it used?
The vaccine might be best used when the risk of relapse is high, e.g. 2 to 3 weeks after the smoking quit date. This will be more effective than giving it to current smokers

Conclusions:
We’re just going to have to wait and see what comes of this anti-smoking vaccine. It might help prevent relapse in the future, but further trials and studies are neccessary.