Chipper (tobacco)
Encyclopedia
A chipper is an occasional drug user who does not use drugs with the regularity or frequency that is typical of addicts
. It is used particularly to refer to opiate
users and tobacco
smokers.
), then they will develop regular cravings and become addicted.
The term was notably used in reference to tobacco by psychologist Dr. Saul Shiffman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
. It is used particularly to refer to opiate
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
users and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
smokers.
"Social" smokers
Such occasional users of tobacco are sometimes thought of as social smokers which is similar in meaning to social drinkers. However, evidence indicates that this only characterizes a minority of chippers. The prevalence of non-daily smoking in the U.S. has increased by 40% between 1996 and 2001.Tipping point
Chippers are given as an example in The Tipping Point; if chippers begin smoking above a certain threshold (or tipping pointTipping point
In sociology, a tipping point is the event of a previously rare phenomenon becoming rapidly and dramatically more common. The phrase was coined in its sociological use by Morton Grodzins, by analogy with the fact in physics that adding a small amount of weight to a balanced object can cause it to...
), then they will develop regular cravings and become addicted.
History
The term dates at least to the 1970s, where it is used in reference to opiate use.The term was notably used in reference to tobacco by psychologist Dr. Saul Shiffman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh.