nicotine
n. uncountablen. a chemical found in tobacco plants that makes people want to keep smoking. It is a stimulant that speeds up your heart and affects your brain.
n. a toxic, oily alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant that acts as a stimulant and is the primary addictive substance in cigarettes. It functions as a potent parasympathomimetic stimulant.
Nicotine is the substance that makes cigarettes so addictive.
Many people use patches or gum to slowly reduce their intake of nicotine when trying to quit smoking.
While nicotine itself is not the primary carcinogen in tobacco smoke, its highly addictive nature ensures repeated exposure to the other harmful toxins present in cigarettes.
Borrowed from French nicotine, equivalent to Nicot + -ine, named after Jean Nicot (1530–1604), the French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds back to France in 1561. The etymology of the surname itself is unclear.
Typically used in the abstract sense; can be used as a modifier in compound nouns like 'nicotine patch' or 'nicotine addiction'.