Honest question, why is tobacco/nicotine such a big deal to people?

Every major city in Europe has street corners where you can witness hopeless alcoholics in the throes of delirium tremens, each one representing a life broken by an addictive and harmful drug.

Watch any local news station in the United States and you'll routinely hear about a drunk driver getting into a crash that kills other innocent people who were just trying to reach their destination.

Somehow these costs to society are acceptable, while somebody choosing to smoke/chew/dip tobacco which may eventually cause them serious health conditions and death isn't.

For the record, I think keeping both alcohol and tobacco legal in the status quo way is fine, but I've long felt that the negative attention given to tobacco is disproportionate.