Vaccine aims to target addictions

A NEW anti-addiction vaccine could be the answer for smokers who lack the willpower to quit for good, scientists said yesterday.

The same vaccine might help cocaine users overcome their addiction, they believe.

It may even be possible one day for parents to have their children immunised against future dependency on cigarettes or drugs.

The vaccine works by stopping addictive substances such as nicotine and cocaine from entering the brain and stimulating the reward centres that generate cravings.

Trials are at an early stage, but they are already showing promising results.

The vaccine has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated in the case of both smokers and cocaine users.

Tests on cocaine users have gone one stage further and indicated a strong immune response.

Dr Campbell Bunce, head of cellular immunology at Xenova Research, the Cambridge-based company developing the vaccine, said: “You can imagine it being used by parents of adolescents, who might want their children to be protected against a drug-taking habit. That is something with ethical considerations that we would have to consider.”

Cocaine users reported that the immunisation reduced the sense of euphoria they felt after taking the drug.

So far, the nicotine trials had not progressed beyond checking doses and evaluating safety. The next stage will be to measure antibody levels in the blood of vaccinated smokers.

Dr Campbell described the research yesterday at the start of the British Association Festival of Science, which is taking place at the University of Salford. He said he did not envisage the vaccine stamping out cravings for cigarettes straight away. Nor would it alleviate the withdrawal symptoms associated with giving up smoking, such as anxiety and depression, but the vaccine could help to ensure people who quit never take the habit up again.

“Often an ex-smoker will relapse at a party, in a moment of weakness,” said Dr Campbell. “Hopefully, the presence of these antibodies will reduce the hit of the cigarette and that desire for another cigarette will be significantly blunted.”

Producing a vaccine against nicotine or cocaine is difficult because the molecules are so small they tend to be ignored by the immune system.

For this reason, the experimental vaccine combines the chemicals with proteins the immune system can recognise.