section_path: Prevention/Potential vaccines for addiction to substances
section_name: Potential vaccines for addiction to substances
paragraph_text: Potential vaccines for addiction to substances
  
  Vaccines for addiction have been investigated as a possibility since the early 2000s. The general theory of a vaccine intended to "immunize" against drug addiction or other substance abuse is that it would condition the immune system to attack and consume or otherwise disable the molecules of such substances that cause a reaction in the brain, thus preventing the addict from being able to realize the effect of the drug. Addictions that have been floated as targets for such treatment include nicotine, opioids, and fentanyl. Vaccines have been identified as potentially being more effective than other anti-addiction treatments, due to "the long duration of action, the certainty of administration and a potential reduction of toxicity to important organs".
  
  Specific addiction vaccines in development include:
  
  As of September 2023, it was further reported that a vaccine "has been tested against heroin and fentanyl and is on its way to being tested against oxycontin ".