There are two major differences with cigarettes compared to alcohol, with the biggest being the very low cultural support around cigarettes. A country can ban a

There are two major differences with cigarettes compared to alcohol, with the biggest being the very low cultural support around cigarettes. A country can ban a lot of things and 99.99% of it is unknown to the general public because there isn't any cultural push for it. The second reason is that nicotine isn't that strong. People can use harder drugs to escape life and stress a bit, but a cigarette doesn't have that effect. Even playing a video games is arguable a stronger and more effective than smoking a cigarette, and it has a higher cultural pull. The prohibition in the United States tried to force a culture change. That is a recipe for failure, especially if there is no easy alternatives except for abstinence.