Why Are Cigarettes, E-Cigs, and Other Tobacco Products So Hard to Quit?
Nicotine. Tobacco products are addictive because they contain nicotine. Nicotine keeps people using tobacco products, even when they want to stop.
What Is Nicotine?
Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical compound present in a tobacco plant. All tobacco products contain nicotine, including cigarettes, non-combusted cigarettes (commonly referred to as “heat-not-burn tobacco products” or “heated tobacco products”), cigars, smokeless tobacco (such as dip, snuff, snus, and chewing tobacco), hookah tobacco, and most e-cigarettes.
Using any tobacco product can lead to nicotine addiction. This is because nicotine can change the way the brain works, causing cravings for more of it.
Some tobacco products, like cigarettes, are designed to deliver nicotine to the brain within seconds,1 making it easier to become dependent on nicotine and more difficult to quit. While nicotine naturally occurs in the tobacco plant itself, some tobacco products contain additives that may make it easier for your body to absorb more nicotine.2
U.S. Food & Drug Administration – 2021-11-09.
Want More Investigative Content?
