Most people will blame addictive properties of cigarettes on nicotine, this may not be the case, or only a small part of it like caffeine in soda. Cigarettes can mimic the effects of antidepressants which many of them are addictive. I still vape and while my nicotine level is quite low i do not need it. I ran several experiments on family members who i got to convert from smoking to vaping. At first i mixed nicotine at the levels they wanted. Over a few months i lowered it to zero, none of them noticed and were blown away when i told them. Like i said before i like nicotine, stimulants in general, but i dont need it at all. I dont get nervous or crave it when i dont use it for days or weeks. But when i smoked i had to have it, i was a 2 PAD smoker for many years. If i dont have my regular dose of caffeine tho.. Im a total asshole with a headache for a couple days. Im not saying use nicotine, im just saying that it isnt as bad for us as we have all been taught and told.