Jump to full article: Jerusalem Post, 2009-02-08
Author: JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Intro: During a 90-minute interview with Harvard Prof. Nancy Rigotti in a Jerusalem cafe, not one customer lit a cigarette. This might be a matter of vague interest for a foreigner who hasn't visited Israel since she was a youngster 40 years ago - but not for Rigotti, a world expert on smoking prevention and cessation
Born in Rockport, Illinois and living in a Boston suburb, Rigotti teaches and does research at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health . . .
BUT EVEN though she was pleased to have a smokeless lunch with The Jerusalem Post, she was aware that illegal smoking is still common in many Israeli public places and that the laws - which preceded most of those in the US - are not well enforced. . . .
Another possibility is an anti-smoking vaccine. "Three or four companies are working on these, which produce an antibody too big to get through the brain-blood barrier and prevents the smoker from getting any 'enjoyment' from the nicotine in tobacco smoke. "But vaccines have to be tested carefully, especially for young people. It isn't known how long the antibodies last. In Europe, vaccines are being tested to prevent relapse in smokers who have already quit. Actual approval and sales are several years away."
But she doubts tobacco use will plunge to zero in the foreseeable future. "I'm not afraid of losing my job doing research on cessation. And if it does go to zero," she says with a smile, "I will always have my primary care practice."
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