Are all smokers addicted to nicotine?

If you go back in the medical journals dealing with addiction before the Reagan-era "Say No To Drugs!" campaign made the idea an easy target, there's almost never anything to indicate that tobacco or nicotine was considered addictive. read more

If indeed nicotine was the only, or even the main, addictive element of smoking, then we'd expect to see a very high rate of success with things like the NicoGummyPatchy products -- but we don't. read more

It puts us at risk for heart disease, COPD, and cancer for starters. Research is ongoing - we don't yet fully understand all of the dangers that cigarette smoke presents. Nicotine Can Hurt Your Health. That said, while cigarette smoke is worse than nicotine alone, nicotine is not a harmless drug. read more

Many ex-smokers have developed an addiction to nicotine gum - with 10 per cent chewing it four times longer than they should (a year) and 5 per cent for two years. Some use it for ten years. read more

Smoking has also been linked to other cancers, leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia. Smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancer, especially mouth cancers. Secondhand smoke can lead to lung cancer and heart disease as well as other health effects in adults and children. For many who use tobacco, long-term brain changes brought on by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction. read more