Only about one-third of people who received the vaccine achieved the highest levels of antibodies.
Before the company can begin larger clinical trials, it must find ways "to intensify the immunization scheme" so that more people achieve the necessary antibody levels.
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The world's 1.3 billion smokers soon might have a powerful new way to kick the habit -- a vaccine against nicotine.
Nearly 60 percent of smokers who achieved high levels of antibodies against nicotine after receiving the vaccine stopped smoking completely for at least six months, according to a new study presented Saturday at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla.
About one-third of those who developed lower levels of antibodies stopped smoking, about the same fraction as those who received a placebo vaccine, according to Dr. Jacques Cornuz of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland, who led the study.
"The data clearly suggest that antibodies against nicotine are effective in helping people quit smoking," Cornuz said.
Only about one-third of people who received the vaccine achieved the highest levels of antibodies.
Before the company can begin larger clinical trials, Cornuz said, it must find ways "to intensify the immunization scheme" so that more people achieve the necessary antibody levels.
That might mean more injections, he said, or higher levels of the immunizing agent in each dose.
"The best way to help patients is to prevent them from getting cancer in the first place," he said.
Vaccines potentially offer a biological approach to breaking the addiction.