Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright
Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for
Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at
http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
With Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' nicotine vaccine
currently undergoing safety trials and Xenova's nicotine vaccine successfully
through the first stage of testing, the products will be used to treat smokers
who repeatedly tried to quit and failed, smokers who want to quit, and perhaps
on teenagers to prevent nicotine addictions in the first place. The products
work by forcing the immune system to produce antibodies against nicotine, which
it does not naturally make due to the small size of the molecule, by attaching
nicotine to a large protein that the immune system can recognize. The vaccine
does not allow nicotine to reach the brain where it usually produces pleasurable
side effects. With 80 percent of smokers starting when teenagers, the vaccines
could eventually reduce the number of smokers by reducing the number
of teenagers addicted to nicotine.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"