nicotine vaccine

This is fascinating:

SCIENTISTS will today unveil results from the first large-scale human trial into a vaccine for nicotine which could see people immunised against addictions to smoking within the next five years.

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The three trial drugs, which are taken as a course of between four and six injections, work by stimulating the production of antibodies in the blood. These antibodies stop nicotine from entering the brain and producing the addictive sensation craved by smokers.

The body’s immune system does not normally react to nicotine, but scientists have combined the chemical with a protein to trigger a “blocking” response. The antibodies which are produced attach themselves to nicotine circulating in the bloodstream, forming a compound that is to big to cross into the brain.