GC: n
S: WHO – http://www.who.int/tobacco/healthwarningsdatabase/addiction/en/ (last access: 24 November 2015); NCBI – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53018/ / (last access: 24 November 2015).
N: 1. – nicotine (n): poisonous alkaloid found in tobacco leaves, 1819, from French nicotine, earlier nicotiane, from Modern Latin Nicotiana, formal botanical name for the tobacco plant, named for Jean Nicot (c. 1530-1600), French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds and powdered leaves back to France 1561. His name is a diminutive of Nicolas.
– addiction (n): c. 1600, “tendency,” of habits, pursuits, etc.; 1640s as “state of being self-addicted,” from Latin addictionem (nominative addictio) “an awarding, a devoting,” noun of action from past participle stem of addicere. Earliest sense was less severe: “inclination, penchant,” but this has become obsolete. In main modern sense it is first attested 1906, in reference to opium (there is an isolated instance from 1779, with reference to tobacco).
2. Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that keeps you smoking. Nicotine is very addictive when delivered to the lungs by inhaling tobacco smoke. It increases the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which help regulate mood and behavior. One of these neurotransmitters is dopamine, which may improve your mood and activate feelings of pleasure. Experiencing these effects from nicotine in tobacco is what makes tobacco so addictive.
While it’s the nicotine in tobacco that causes nicotine dependence, the toxic effects of tobacco result from other substances in tobacco. Smokers have much higher rates of heart disease, stroke and cancer than nonsmokers do.
S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nicotine; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=addiction&searchmode=none (last access: 24 November 2015). 2. MAYO – http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nicotine-dependence/basics/definition/con-20014452 (last access: 20 November 2015).
SYN: smoking, smoking habit.
S: Cosnautas (last access: 24 November 2015); WHO – http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/youth/health_effects/en/ (last access: 24 November 2015); http://www.hpb.gov.sg/HOPPortal/health-article/420 (last access: 24 November 2015).
