As said, having a cigarette or two occasionally isn't going to get you addicted. It's when it becomes a second habit and when you start doing it at home and/or work that it becomes a real addiction, at which point it can be far more addictive than alcohol due to the ease and frequency with which you can smoke and the fact that you can do it without getting drunk/hungover and hence avoid losing time from work.
I was surprised when I first started smoking at work. Before that I only smoked on the weekends when I was at a bar or club (it gave me something to do to pass the idle time). It helped me work better and longer than ever before and I could stay more focused on the task at hand without my mind wandering (which it often does). As a result, I started smoking to help me get through the long work hours, and that's when it became a real habit and an addiction. I can go 3 months without alcohol, but it's a struggle going 3 hours now without a cigarette unless I am doing something to really occupy my mind.
For people talking about the dangers of second-hand smoking, I tend to think those efforts would better be directed towards alcohol. While it is a problem, second hand smoking causes 3000 deaths a year which dwarfed by alcohol which is already attributed to 25,000 deaths just from drunk driving and over 100,000 from other alcohol-related causes (suicide, e.g.). Aside from deaths, it's also a common factor in sexual abuse, rape, assault, and a significant cause in nationwide reduction in productivity. I'm also generally considered an alcoholic, and always wonder why people divulge so much effort against smoking.
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