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[asian1]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14389711.htm

An experimental vaccine against nicotine helped smokers kick the habit, Swiss researchers reported on Saturday. Larger tests are needed but the test of heavy smokers suggested that 40 percent were able to quit smoking for nearly six months after receiving the vaccine, the researchers said.

[Floid]

As something of a heavy smoker at the moment... I've got mixed thoughts about this. Directly attacking nicotine seems like a relatively safe way to go about it -- meaning it would risk few side effects other than forcing someone through 'withdrawal' -- but that's still going to force someone through withdrawal.

A benefit would, I assume, be that you could smoke your way through withdrawal with this technique, which might cushion the blow... but since "counseling" was involved to achieve the success rate, it's hard to tell if that aspect of it came into play.

Meanwhile, just reducing the 'addictive potential' does seem appropriate, but this would suggest that around 30% of people would care to keep it up anyway... (I think I'd actually prefer a society where kids were immunized to resist the effects, reducing the cultural 'risk' of the plant in the first place, while preserving the 'right' to casual use for whatever reasons... but that's a heck of an ethical problem itself.)

[Interesting thing is that, here in the US, they've jacked up the price, penalized the tobacco companies, and started adding further 'sin taxes' just to balance state budgets... but nicotine gum is now nonprescription, and -- hmm, I was going to say it costs more than just continuing to smoke, but apparently they've jacked up brand-name cigarettes to the cost of the gum. This sounds fair, but jacks up the 'opportunity cost' of trying it if you're not really sure you want to quit.]

[T_Bone]

Smoking is a funny issue.

I hate government interfering with choice, but I'd like this problem solved....

Nobody who smokes should be forced to not smoke, but I wouldn't mind if people who currently DONT smoke were restricted from starting....

Why not pick a date, ANY date, and make this the cutoff? ie: every day, the smoking age will increase by one day.

bah. screw it, let evoution solve it.

:-P

[cecilia]

Floid wrote:
As something of a heavy smoker at the moment... I've got mixed thoughts about this.............

(I think I'd actually prefer a society where kids were immunized to resist the effects, reducing the cultural 'risk' of the plant in the first place, while preserving the 'right' to casual use for whatever reasons... but that's a heck of an ethical problem itself.)

while I certainly don't think children should take drugs (legal ones, too), Forcing a child to be "immunized" isn't the right thing to do.
after all, what about people like me? I never have had ANY desire to smoke! i don't need any such Vaccine and maybe taking such a thing would have harmed me in some way if taken as a child.

once you are an adult and smoking AND you wish to stop, then take whatever measures you need. then it's YOUR choice.

unless they find a "smoking gene" and can completely identify a person as having the potential for such future problems, don't mess with a child's body.

cecilia wrote:

while I certainly don't think children should take drugs (legal ones, too), Forcing a child to be "immunized" isn't the right thing to do.
after all, what about people like me? I never have had ANY desire to smoke! i don't need any such Vaccine and maybe taking such a thing would have harmed me in some way if taken as a child.

once you are an adult and smoking AND you wish to stop, then take whatever measures you need. then it's YOUR choice.

unless they find a "smoking gene" and can completely identify a person as having the potential for such future problems, don't mess with a child's body.

What if they created a cocaine/heroin vaccine and offered to inject your child with it at birth?

Addiction is a disease just like MMR, and we give MMR vaccines to babies.

[cecilia]

yeah, but not everyone has that disease.
not everyone is susceptible.

it's just not that simple. I don't believe in the 'give people a pill to solve all their problems' way of thinking.

there ARE people who are susceptible to alcholism. there are certain statistical elements like that it runs in families, etc. in those families people should be educated about the symtoms, signs and indications of problems.

i think teaching kids to be healthy and practice healthy habits is alot more useful.

cecilia wrote:
yeah, but not everyone has that disease.
not everyone is susceptible.

it's just not that simple. I don't believe in the 'give people a pill to solve all their problems' way of thinking.

there ARE people who are susceptible to alcholism. there are certain statistical elements like that it runs in families, etc. in those families people should be educated about the symtoms, signs and indications of problems.

i think teaching kids to be healthy and practice healthy habits is alot more useful.

I was raised that way though, yet I still smoke like a chimney and took cocaine everyday for three years.

If there was an injection that stopped drugs being addictive, but left the pleasurable effects that could only be a good thing if you ask me.

[cecilia]

If there was an injection that stopped drugs being addictive, but left the pleasurable effects that could only be a good thing if you ask me.

you want your cake and to eat it too.

yeah, well, i don't have this "addition" problem. THAT feeling is what you have to deal with.

cecilia wrote:

you want your cake and to eat it too.

yeah, well, i don't have this "addition" problem. THAT feeling is what you have to deal with.

There is nothing wrong with my arithmetic Cecilia! ;-)

[cecilia]

well, THAT's something to be thankful for!

now all you have to do is work on that drug-love thing ya got. :-o

cecilia wrote:
well, THAT's something to be thankful for!

now all you have to do is work on that drug-love thing ya got. :-o

I said i DID not i DO. I don't do any drugs at all anymore, not even my avatar these days.

Old, and boring, sensible parent now you see! :-D

[cecilia]

yes, but you DREAM about it.....mmmmmmmmmm, right?

cecilia wrote:
yes, but you DREAM about it.....mmmmmmmmmm, right?

Oh yes, it's the same feeling as when you haven't got laid for a while and dream about getting some! ;-)