Dependence on a drug is not necessarily bad. Addiction absolutely is.
Addiction (substance use disorder) exists when a person exhibits two or more of the following symptoms: (1) impaired control, (2) social problems, (3) risky use, and (4) physical dependence.
Impaired control means using more of a substance or more often than intended; or wanting to cut down or stop use but not being able to.
Social problems includes things like neglecting responsibilities and relationships, abandoning activities the person used to care about, or failing to fulfill obligations at home, school or work - because of the substance use.
Risky use includes things like using in risky settings, continued use despite known problems, engaging in risky substance-related practices like sharing needles, risky sexual activity (because of, or in order to obtain the drug), and driving while intoxicated.
Physical dependence is needing more of the substance to get the
same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when a substance isn't used.
Two or three symptoms indicate mild substance use disorder. Four or five symptoms indicate moderate, and six or more indicate severe substance use disorder. When people talk about addiction, they are typically referring to severe substance use disorder.
Physical dependence and tolerance are not the same as addiction. Substance use disorder is by definition problematic.
That’s just generic boilerplate addiction literature. None of those apply to nicotine. It’s cheap, legal and doesn’t have enough of an effect to be a public disorder risk. No one is committing domestic violence or impaired driving while being purely “hopped up on nicotine”. The most you might get is someone holding up a store to incidentally steal cigarettes while they go for what’s in the cash register, but that’s about it.
We’re clearly talking about nicotine in this thread. Your boilerplate addition did nothing to address anything about a nicotine addiction. Not all of them are the same- there is a stark difference in being addicted to caffeine and being addicted to heroin. Copy pasting information without context adds nothing useful.
Addiction (substance use disorder) exists when a person exhibits two or more of the following symptoms: (1) impaired control, (2) social problems, (3) risky use, and (4) physical dependence.
Impaired control means using more of a substance or more often than intended; or wanting to cut down or stop use but not being able to.
Social problems includes things like neglecting responsibilities and relationships, abandoning activities the person used to care about, or failing to fulfill obligations at home, school or work - because of the substance use.
Risky use includes things like using in risky settings, continued use despite known problems, engaging in risky substance-related practices like sharing needles, risky sexual activity (because of, or in order to obtain the drug), and driving while intoxicated.
Physical dependence is needing more of the substance to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when a substance isn't used.
Two or three symptoms indicate mild substance use disorder. Four or five symptoms indicate moderate, and six or more indicate severe substance use disorder. When people talk about addiction, they are typically referring to severe substance use disorder.
Physical dependence and tolerance are not the same as addiction. Substance use disorder is by definition problematic.