A chipper is an occasional recreational-drug user who does not use drugs with the regularity or frequency that is typical of addiction.
It is used particularly to refer to occasional users of opiates and tobacco smokers.
It can also refer to people who use various recreational drugs, but none habitually.
[2] Chippers are given as an example in The Tipping Point; if chippers begin smoking above a certain threshold (or tipping point), then they will develop regular cravings and become addicted.
[3] The term was notably used in reference to tobacco by psychologist Dr. Saul Shiffman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh.