Anti-smoking pill in the offing!

GROTON: Researchers are racing to develop a drug that would make smoking as treatable as erectile dysfunction, high cholesterol and acid reflux disease.

Pharmaceutical companies see the potential for billions of dollars in sales for a vaccine or a nicotine-free pill that could end addiction at the chemical level for US's 50 million smokers.

"It's the biggest addiction market there is," said Dr Herbert D Kleber, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University. "Is it realistic to be able to help addicts stop smoking and remain off with a pill? I think the answer is yes and we're working on a number of them."

In Connecticut, researchers at Pfizer Inc. identified a brain receptor that nicotine binds to and designed a drug, varenicline that latches to the same site.

                                          Smoking, it’s fun for the whole family, even small children.J

Researchers hope that the drug will attach to nicotine receptors in the brain, preventing overpowering cravings from setting in when someone stops smoking.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1045462.cms

My thoughts here…offing

1. In the near or immediate future; soon to come: with exams finished and graduation in the offing.

Offing…offing…I like that word. The writer of this article was certainly using their thesaurus when they were trying to come up with a title for this one. Hmmm…offing. I can see the waves out in the offing. My death is in the offing as my life continues on…That’s a great word, but as far as the actual point of this article is concerned, I actually do agree with it partially. A pill to stop smoking is a much better alternative than say a patch. Patches suck. They’re like band-aids; they peel off when they get wet, and I don’t like the idea of some form of cancerous chemical being absorbed into my blood stream through my arm. Although, this article makes this wonder pill sound like the next “Viagra,” (Fig 1.1) comparing smoking to, say, erectile dysfunction, what kind of impact is it really going to have? Don’t smokers get enough crap as it is? The world is turning anti-smoker. Smokers can’t smoke in some restaurants, at work, or in shopping centers. Some laws have tried to ban smoking in their own car—fat chance for anything like that passing—and now we’re comparing this “All-American” habit—as much a symbol to our country as baseball or apple pie—to Bob Dole’s penis. (Fig 1.2) I do suppose it is all for the better. Maybe smokers need that little extra push before they can make the final steps to get on the wagon to quit smoking, or maybe they’ll just go homicidal and mass murder women and children in the streets…I guess I can see the bright side to this—if everyone takes the pill and kicks their habit, they can then enjoy smoking just because they’re bored (Fig 1.3) and not have to worry about the nasty side effects of withdrawal, because we all know that people are going to keep smoking anyways.

Back

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3

If you would like to respond to this BLOG, email me at johnstuartmill_alexanderpope@yahoo.com