Rather than a disease, I see addiction as the outcome of a brain doing what it’s supposed to do: seek pleasure and relief in a world that isn’t cooperating.

Other researchers also recognise that addiction grows best in a vacuum, in environments devoid of other, more wholesome rewards, such as prosperity, community, close interpersonal relationships and self-esteem.

Desire can get stuck in a lot of places: in loving and caring for your kids or your pet, gourmet cooking, stamp-collecting, you name it. Or it can get stuck on drugs, including nicotine, when that empty feeling comes around again.