Substance: Physical matter; material; The essential part of anything; the most vital part; Considerable wealth or resources; drugs    Tobacco is not a substance in the … sense of controlled substance, at least not yet.Nor is nicotine, the drug it contains.nswer by Zenballwizard. Confidence votes 23.6K. No. A controlled substance is one that may not be legally dispensed without a prescription or, in some cases, may not legally be possessed or dispensed at all.