I'm reminded of a joke-
Lin Biao did not drink or smoke. He died at age 63. Zhou Enlai drank but didn’t smoke. He died at age 77. Mao Zedong smoked but didn’t drink. He died at age 82. Deng Xiaoping smoked and drank. He died at age 92. Zhang Xueliang smoked, drank, did drugs and women. He died at age 100.
And yeah, promoting smoking as a good thing is bad. But it has its own cultural weight (across the entire globe), even more so than alcohol. Being puritanical about its mere portrayal (in realistic, non-advertising contexts) is only going to detract from any cause, and the truth is people will have their vices (smoking, drinking, unhealthy foods, consumerism, etc) and it's better leaving less harmful things be- with a focus on moderation and education so people know what they're getting into.
to smoking tho