PLAN ON THE CARDS TO VACCINATE CHILDREN AGAINST FUTURE DRUG ADDICTION

London: A radical scheme to vaccinate children against future drug
addiction is being considered by ministers, The Independent on Sunday reveals.

Under the plans, doctors would immunise children at risk of becoming
smokers or drug users with an injection. The scheme could work similarly to
the current nationwide measles, mumps and rubella vaccination programme.

Childhood immunisation would protect adults from the euphoria experienced
by users, making drugs such as heroin and cocaine pointless to take. Such
vaccinations are being developed by pharmaceutical companies and are due to
hit the market within two years.

The Department of Trade and Industry has set up a special project to
investigate ways of using science to combat drug and nicotine addiction.

A national anti-drug immunisation scheme is one of the proposals by the
Brain Science, Addiction and Drugs project, an expert committee of
scientists appointed by the government earlier this year.

Professor David Nutt, a leading government drugs adviser who sits on the
committee, said anti-drug vaccines for children are likely to be among the
panel's recommendations when it reports next March.

Professor Nutt, head of psychopharmacology at the University of Bristol and
a senior member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, said:
"People could be vaccinated against drugs at birth as you are against
measles. You could say cocaine is more dangerous than measles, for example.
It is important that there is a debate on this issue. This is a huge topic
- - addiction and smoking are major causes of premature death."

According to the government's own figures, the annual cost of drug
addiction, to the economy, through related crime and health problems, is
UKP 12 billion.

There is a strong incentive for the government to find new ways to halt
spiralling addiction. Last week, the Independent on Sunday revealed that
cocaine use had trebled in Britain with increasing numbers of users
switching to crack cocaine.

Scientists are already conducting trials for drugs that can be used by
doctors to vaccinate against cocaine, heroin and nicotine addiction.

Xenova, the British biotechnology firm, has carried out trials on an
anti-cocaine vaccine which showed that 58% of patients remained
cocaine-free after three months.

And the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California has developed a
super-virus, harmless to humans, which produces proteins that can block or
reduce the effects of cocaine.

The Scripps team tested the virus on rats by injecting it into their noses
twice a day for three days. On the fourth day, the rats were given a shot
of cocaine. It was found that the cocaine had more effect on the rats not
injected with the virus than those that were.

Scientists hope the virus will help stop the cravings for cocaine by
blocking the pleasure they normally associate with cocaine.

The medication is expected to be available within in the next two years in
the form of a nasal spray.