Read the original report your report is citing: 10.1001/jama.1988.03720190003002 (excerpt:
https://sci-hub.se/10.1001/jama.1988.03720190003002)
This reads like a thinly-veiled marketing piece for Nicorette (now owned by J&J and GSK) via lobbying -- four years after nicotine gum receives FDA approval in the U.S.
I have yet to see any actual research on isolating nicotine as the addictive component in tobacco products.