Nicotine Vaccine May Help Smokers Quit »
Posted By epiphannyy 1 week, 6 days ago in Health & FitnessMark Twain once said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times." Why is it so difficult for people to cease smoking permanently? The answer is nicotine, a drug found naturally in tobacco. In fact, drug experts claim that quitting cigarettes is far more challenging than refraining from heroin or cocaine because of tobacco’s highly addictive nature. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, a new vaccine may be able to combat nicotine's pull on smokers.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, gave Nabi BioPharmaceuticals a $10 million grant to take its anti-nicotine vaccine, NicVAX, to clinical trials. Officials want to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments and collect information that will allow the drug treatment to be used safely. Testing began two weeks ago, and must still be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Read Full Story at aolhealth.com »
122 Views Share Story 11 Comments Report
Submitted By:
epiphannyy
"I will tell you, I am a liberal; I am a progressive. But, you know what I really am? I am a "bleeding-heart conservative." Yes ...
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 11 (view all)
-
100%
bluetexasvalley1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Reply
This is all wrong.
Quitting smoking is NOT difficult because of the nicotine addiction. Yes, nicotine is addicting, but probably not any more so than caffeine.
Ask a longtime smoker. I smoked for 48 years, up until a few weeks ago. Just as -- if not more so -- important as the nicotine is the hand-and-mouth thing -- the ceremony of smoking.
The smoker has a full ritual he goes through several times a day. He takes the cigarette out of the pack. He puts it in his mouth and lights it as he puffs to get the fire going. Then, aaahhh, the inhalation of the smoke, the feel of the smoke going through the mouth, the taking it in to the lungs, then the exhalation, are just the beginning. Also important are the holding of the cigarette in the hand, the flicking of the ashes, moving it to and away from the lips. These are things a non-smoker cannot understand. I repeat: Ask a smoker.
This is exactly why there is such a high rate of failure (80%)in stop-smoking aids -- the gum, the patch, the pills, etc.; and these all contain as much or more nicotine than a cigarette, truth be told. Replacing the nicotine is not anywhere near enough to satisfy a real smoker. The other parts of the ritual described above must be replaced too.
How did I quit recently? I did it by replacing the harmful tobacco cigarettes with one of the new electronic cigarettes. I still get my nicotine fix (The tiny amount of nicotine injested by a smoker is not harmful. It's the other ingredients in analog cigarettes that hurt you.) But more importantly, the e-cig retains the hand-and-mouth "ritual" for the user. Having something that looks and feels much like a cigarette and having something to inhale and exhale (99% water vapor) makes the quitting almost seamless.
It's a no-brainer, folks. Of the people who have taken up e-cigs with the intention of giving up tobacco cigarettes, 90% have been successful. These people are no longer inhaling tar, carbon monoxide, benzene and thousands of other harmful chemicals contained in real cigarettes. These people are no longer contaminating YOUR air with secondhand smoke.
The FDA is being pressured by the tobacco companies and the legislators from the tobacco states to not approve the e-cigs. Guess why. These e-cigs are without a doubt the best way to make our country smoke-free. This is as important to the non-smokers as it is to smokers, and that is why I am asking that EVERYONE take part in promoting the e-cigarette as a viable alternative.
It's YOUR AIR.
It's YOUR HEALTH.-
100%
smithichie1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I hear you BTV, about the hand mouth thingy that goes with cigs, that's why I found the gum more effective than the patch when it came to quitting.
Reply
I think it's important to have as many ways to quit as can be possibly thought up cause everyone's different. -
100%
altnrg1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I totally agree that the mental addiction in cigarettes is the #1 element that is way more significant then the physical addiction to nicotine.
Reply
A smoker can sleep 8 hours without waking up because he/she needed a nicotine dose BUT he/she will be restless if they finished a meal without taking a cigy. -
100%
fiftynine1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I quit three and a half years ago after a lifetime of smoking..I started when i was about fourteen and when i quit i was a three pack a day user....
Reply
My VA doctor put it to me real simple one day..He said i was on the fence and if i continued it was going to be an ugly down hill trip from that day forward..He made no guarantees about my health if i did quit.
I started with the patches...used them for two weeks and decided that ,just as i did with alcohol.i needed to just quit..no bs,no excuses,just quit...Bought stock in chewing gum and Russell Stovers and just didn't smoke....No matter how bad the urge was i just didn't give into it..
The hand mouth thing was and is the hardest part to kick but i just found other things to do with them...Wife says it was fun..:-)...
Seriously,if you want to quit..just do it. Prepare yourself mentally for all the games that your mind will play on you and just do it. Be aware though that just like drinking you will be doing something and BOOM ...out of no where it will hit you and you will want a smoke so bad you can taste it..Fortunately though it seems to pass in a matter of minutes but it can be rough..
Don't give these people any more of your money to kill you...if you really want to die a forty five round is about fifty cents and lot less painful than cancer...These people are vultures so quit supporting them..That attitude helps me a lot..
Good luck..you can do it !!!
-
-
100%
Tumultuous1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Kudos to those who have or are trying to quit. I smoked for 31 years, quit 2.5 years ago, and used the prescription drug Chantix to do so.
Reply
The e-cig sounds intriguing, but I has unaware of such a thing when I was trying to quit.
I believe the strongest deterrent is the degree of ones commitment to quit smoking and not the placebo one chooses to assist in quitting. -
100%
cowboygrandpa1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I was a smoker for years, even when I was boxing.
Reply
But I went to the doctor one day because I was getting sick. I thought I had a cold.
She was the first and last doctor that told me what the problem really was.
I quote.
"How many cigarettes do you smoke a day???"
Answer
"Between 40 and 50 sometimes up to 70 depending upon what I'm doing."
Her reply
" Has anybody ever told you that your smoking is killing you???"
Answer
" No, most doctors tell me I'm healthy and the reason I'm sick is a virus going around, I only go them when I'm ill or have severe pain."
Her reply.
"Well, you are not healthy at all, in fact you have chronic bronchitis, you have the beginnings of Emphysema, and if you continue to smoke you will be on oxygen 24 hours a day within the next five years."
"That is why you have caught Pneumonia the last few years, and that is what will eventually cause you to die."
I was stunned and thankful for the doctors honesty. My Grandchildren, Children, Wife, and others in my life were to important to me to allow them to see me suffer and be a burden upon them in that way !!!!!
I walked out of the office, and immediately lit a cigarette out of habit. I smoked half of it, then ground it out and threw away the rest of a brand new pack.
I haven't smoked since.
That was over seven years ago.
I am much more healthy and I haven't had Pneumonia, or an attack of Bronchitis since.
My lungs are actually in better shape, as I had to have a test done at work to see if I could use a breathing filter, to work with Hazardous materials. The guy doing the testing said my lung capacity was increasing each year. And the force exuded was above average, in the superior range.
I just say if you love others and yourself. Quit smoking now !!!
Thanks btv.
Good luck to your continued cessation of smoking. -
100%
MeanMrMustard1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
When I go into the store the cigarettes are right next to the quit smoking kits,except the quit smoking kits are more than twice the price of cigarettes.
Reply
Suggestion-instead of paying millions of dollars on insulting commercials using scare tactics,if the smoking nazis care so much about our health why don't they just buy us the quit smoking kits?
People don't seem to realize that insults,condescending holier than thou attitudes are never going to make anyone quit smoking.
For those former smokers on here and non smokers,this is my experience,whenever I see a tv ad about quitting,the addicted part of my brain tells me it's time for a cigarette.There are some times when I enjoy a cigarette.
The govt has put new rules into effect that force tobacco companies to sell "fire-proof" cigarettes,this is a scam,the cigarettes are not fire-proof they go out halfway and taste like they are filled with new chemicals that are probably worse than the tobacco.
Again I will say that you are not going to shame us out of smoking and it is total BS that my cigarette is more dangerous to your health than auto pollution.The fake outrage I see is an act,watch any old movie and you will see someone light up and nobody around them will object,that was real life before the public was told it's ok to treat smokers as second class citizens.
http://unclebrice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/c...-
100%
cowboygrandpa1 week, 5 days ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
MMM:
Reply
My wife smokes.
I don't like it, but I don't try to stop her.
Her life, her decision.
My life, my decision.
As far as second hand smoke, I don't care if ya want to smoke around me. If I don't like it, I'll get up and leave. No problem with me what so ever. Hahahahahahahaaaaa !!!!
-
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.