• Al Capone$44.00
• Astra$7.60
• Atis$15.30
• Avalon$12.40
• Beratt$15.10
• Beverly$12.40
• Bond Street$12.40
• Camel$17.00
• Chesterfield$15.10
• Cigaronne$20.10
• Classic$11.10
• Cosmos$9.43
• Davidoff$21.10
• Doina$10.10
• Dunhill$31.10
• Esse$16.70
• Eva$14.70
• Focus$11.10
• Fluieras$10.10
• Glamour$14.20
• Hilton$11.10
• Karelia$18.10
• Kent$18.90
• Kiss$13.90
• L&M$14.10
• Lady$13.80
• Leana$8.10
• LD$8.40
• Luceafar$9.60
• Lucky Strike$15.60
• Marengo$22.60
• Marlboro$18.70
• Monte Carlo$12.60
• Moods$56.60
• MT$10.60
• Nistru$8.60
• OK$13.10
• Orbita$9.60
• Pall Mall$15.30
• Parliament$22.60
• Plai$10.10
• Plugarul$10.10
• Prima Lux$11.60
• Prefect$12.40
• R1 Slim$17.40
• Red & White$11.10
• Rich$16.70
• Richmond$31.10
• Ritm$11.10
• Sobranie$38.70
• Style$12.10
• Temp$10.10
• Viceroy$11.60
• Virginia$17.70
• Vogue$21.10
• Wind$12.40
• Winston$15.60
• Zimbru$9.60

Scientists are Excited by the Results Nicotine Vaccine Showed during Preliminary Tests

A magic vaccine which may help smokers to get rid of their nasty habit is demonstrating great results at preliminary clinical tests, scientists declared last week during a conference on the addictions.

According to the researchers, NicVAX will force the immune system to create antibodies which will stop nicotine from reaching the brain.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, vaccine’s creator, said during the preliminary trials, 16 percent of the respondents gave up smoking, in contrast to 6 percent among the respondents in placebo group.

The results are regarded as better than those showed by Zyban and Chantix, prescription drugs designed to assist people older than 18, Nabi representatives told during a meeting of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Moreover, those respondents who had the best response to the vaccine, managed to reduce the number of cigarettes consumed, from an average of 20 cigs daily to 10.

Dr. Raafat Fahim, president of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals also admitted that smokers who took the vaccine had almost no adverse effects.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration required the manufacturers of Zyban and Chantix to place “black box” health warnings on the packages of their products as they have been linked with increased risks of suicidal behavior, anger and depression.

Nabi started the first of two-phase stage III tests for the vaccine last December, involving 1,000 participants. Last month the company began the second phase III trial, enrolling other 1,000 people.

“Creating efficient medications that could make smokers give up smoking has presented many difficulties,” stated Dr. Francis Collins, president of the National Health Institute. “But this product gives a great promise to eliminating the use of tobacco products, a major challenge for the public health.”

The major aim of the phase III strials is to find out the number of people who managed to give up and don’t start again within 12 months. The results of the trials are expected to be ready somewhere in 2011.

Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the NIDA, expressed her excitement about the possibility of vaccinating people to help them overcome their addiction. Mentioning that they have been also carrying out the trials for cocaine vaccine, she said that she is looking forward to having the vaccine for all the harmful substances people are addicted to, including cigarettes, heroin and other drugs.

As a person smokes, nicotine penetrates to the blood vessels through the lung tissue and is carried to the brain. Upon reaching the brain it sticks to the brain receptors which produce dopamine, a hormone responsible for providing pleasurable sensations.

The process of delivering nicotine to the brain and impacting on the release of dopamine is very rapid - it takes less than a minute after the initial inhalation – that is why nicotine fix is so fast. And namely this is what makes smokers become addicted to their habit.

The vaccine created by Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is designed to develop antibodies which stick to nicotine molecules in the bloodstream, preventing nicotine to reaching the brain.