One alternative to drug-based therapy is a "nicotine vaccine". In fact, a number of nicotine vaccines are in clinical trials, but show varied success when compared to placebos.
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) are taking a different approach. They knew a number of microorganisms were capable of degrading tobacco waste, and one bacterium, Pseudomonas putida, is extremely good at it.
“The bacterium is like a little Pac-Man”, says Kim Janda, professor of chemistry at TSRI, “it goes along and eats nicotine”.
Non-pathogenic P. putida uses a number of enzymes to degrade nicotine to fumaric acid. Song Xue, a graduate student at TSRI, investigated the enzyme NicA2 for its safety and efficacy as a smoking cessation drug, and the preliminary data appears quite promising.
When Xue and colleagues combined serum from mouse blood, nicotine, and NicA2, the half-life of nicotine dropped from 2 to 3 hours to between 9 and 15 minutes. On top of that, NicA2 remained stable in serum, produced no toxic metabolites, and proved to be heat stable for up to 3 weeks. These are all signs that NicA2 could one day help people kick the tobacco habit.
Sources: Journal of the American Chemical Society, The Scripps Research Institute, Tech Times