Should every teenager be given a vaccine against the effects of nicotine, and so prevent them becoming addicted to cigarettes? This controversial possibility seems likely to happen in the future, thanks to the development of a new vaccine for nicotine addiction. The vaccine was designed for people who want to quit smoking but who repeatedly relapse .But since most countries are failing to cut the number of children taking up smoking, many people will want to know whether the vaccine should be used far more widely if it proves to be effective. "The vaccine will be tested first on relapsing smokers, then on those who plan to quit, then on those who are not yet completely addicted," says Frank Vocci of the National Institute of Drug Abuse. "The final step would be vaccinating young people before they even try smoking, but that's a long way down the road." John Roberts, medical director of British drug company Xenova, is very enthusiastic. "I think prevention is a huge opportunity," he says. "If you can take away the pleasure nicotine gives, then teenagers who start smoking are more likely to stop before it becomes a habit." 80% of smokers start in their teens, with 360,000 teenagers and children in the US taking up the habit per year. But would the vaccine be given to all teenagers or only a selected few? "It's hard to decide which children are most at risk of becoming smokers," says Amanda Sandford of Action on Smoking and Health. Instead she favors education as a way of discouraging children from smoking. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is also cautious, "It is very difficult to know what is the right age to give the vaccine to children." There are also worries about giving the vaccine to long-term adult smokers. Will addicted smokers simply try to beat the vaccine's antibodies by smoking more? Gary Norwith, Nabi's clinical director, says this would be almost impossible. "You'd have to stick an entire pack of cigarettes in your mouth and smoke for hours to beat the antibodies," he says. What's Roberts's attitude towards giving teens the vaccine?
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