New target may help anti-smoking drugs

(KXAN) - Researchers have identified a new tobacco target they hope they can use to one day develop anti-smoking drugs. The compound appears to trigger a series of reactions that lead to nicotine addiction.

By studying rats, they found blocking receptors that enable this compound decreased the amount of nicotine the rats voluntarily took in and reduced their motivation to find it. Researchers are planning more studies to learn how to use this information in humans.