Vaccination for nicotine addiction developed

Smoking is recognised as one of the greatest cause of preventable illness and early death in the UK. Although the thousands of different chemicals found within cigarettes are responsible for most smoking-related diseases, it is one substance, nicotine, which results in addiction through its effects on the brain. Researchers have now developed a new type of vaccination that will work to prevent nicotine reaching the brain. 

Classically, there have been two main types of vaccine. Active vaccines work by introducing the disease-causing substance to the body, resulting in the immune system developing lifetime immunity. Passive vaccines inject the antibodies for a specific foreign body directly into the bloodstream, and only last for a short period of time.

The vaccine, developed by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, is also active but acts in a different way to the classical method. The scientists insert the genetic sequence of a nicotine antibody into a nonharmful virus and direct it to the liver. Here, the genetic information is inserted into the nuclei of the liver cells, which produce nicotine antibodies.

In studies on mice, researchers demonstrated that this method resulted in the continuous production of antibodies, which acted against injected nicotine. Although this vaccine would work best in smokers who are committed to quitting, it has been suggested that it may also be used to prevent nicotine addiction in younger people.

Glossary

Vaccination

a preparation of viruses or bacteria introduced into the body to induce immunity

Nicotine

the component of cigarette smoke that causes physical addiction

Virus

an infectious particle that replicates by invading healthy cells

Antibodies

a protein molecule produced by the blood in response to foreign or invading substances