Nicotine isn’t the only addictive substance in cigarettes. As someone who has quit both cigs and vaping, it was by far easiest to quit vaping. It absolutely sucked - but nothing compared to going off tobacco. I still get massive cravings if I smell someone smoking nearby.

no one actually gives a fuck

Considering the fuss people make about gender neutral terms, as well as the whole master/slave, blacklist/whitelist thing, I’d say it’s not totally improbable.