Cigarettes are one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the U.S.
Nicotine is highly addictive. The tar in cigarettes increases a smoker's risk of lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial disorders. The carbon monoxide in smoke increases the chance of cardiovascular diseases. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults and greatly increases the risk of respiratory illnesses in children.
T
obacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The impact of tobacco use in terms of morbidity and mortality costs to society is staggering. Economically, more than $75 billion of total U.S. healthcare costs each year is attributable directly to smoking7.
However, this cost is well below the total cost to society because it does not include burn care from smoking-related fires, perinatal care for low birth-weight infants of mothers who smoke, and medical care costs associated with disease caused by secondhand smoke. In addition to healthcare costs, the costs of lost productivity due to smoking effects are estimated at $82 billion per year, bringing a conservative estimate of the economic burden of smoking to more than $150 billion per year
Therefore, news from a recent American Heart Association Conference lent hope to billions of users. The American Heart Association reiterated that people who smoke have a 3 times higher chance of dying from heart disease; than those who don’t.
New research coming down the pipeline indicates help may be available soon for sufferers who are trying to quit. The new drug works by latching onto nicotine and preventing it from reaching the brain. Is this good? For many cigarette addicts it may be, as no longer will they receive the jolt of pleasure associated with the nicotine rush. If there is no fun in smoking, nor is there any longer pleasure associated with smoking; may be just the help smokers need to quit permanently.
The FDA has promised to place this vaccine on the fast track; so it may be on the market soon. The American Heart Association stated that this new vaccine holds promise for approximately 1.3 billion nicotine addicts. 70.3 million addicts reside in the United States. Of this number, 40% try to stop annually. Only 5% will succeed. Participants who received this new drug had a 16% success rate in quitting cigarettes. This rate is akin to many other approaches currently being used, but if added, to a current therapy for the most recalcitrant nicotine addict, may be just the edge they need to push them over the edge into success.
Sources
NABI Pharmaceuticals: Successful Completion of NicVAX Phase 2b Trial
http://www.nabi.com/index.php
National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/100445/Nabi_slides.pdf
Circulation, American Heart Association, October, 2007
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/gca?allch=&SEARCHID=1&FULLTEXT=nicotine&VOLUME=116&ISSUE=16+Supplement&FIRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&gca=circulationaha%3B116%2F16_MeetingAbstracts%2FII_844
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