Doctors test anti-smoking vaccine

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Research money has increased because of tobacco lawsuit settlements, and insurers increasingly see the health burden of smoking and will pay for cessation treatments that work, said Douglas Jorenby, the psychologist who heads the NicVax study in Madison.

Smokers also are demanding better results than those afforded by traditional nicotine replacement tools. Their desperation sometimes makes them prey to quacks.

The FDA recently moved to block some companies promoting low-power laser therapy, or laser acupuncture, as a way to quit, and a consumer’s group is seeking action against a bottled water product that contains nicotine.

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“We’ve got 20 million Americans trying to quit. Among those trying, less than 20 percent are using evidence-based treatments,” said Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the tobacco research center in Madison.

The vast majority of these visit a doctor for routine care, yet “few of them, less than a third, leave that encounter with evidence-based advice on how to quit smoking,” he lamented.

Regardless of whether the experimental vaccine or other novel approaches ultimately prove successful, they already have had a positive effect — giving some smokers fresh motivation, Jorenby said.

“Every time there’s a new treatment for smoking cessation, there are people who have never tried to quit, or haven’t tried for a long time, who are going to give it a shot,” he said. “People benefit from practice. It usually takes several tries.”

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