The difference is that we have clear evidence that tobacco is vastly harmful to your health in the long term. Alcohol? Not so much.
Pretty much everyone agrees that it's bad to be an alcoholic. Most people get annoyed with people that routinely get sloppy, out of control drunk. That's already socially unacceptable.
The general consumption of alcohol becoming an outright social faux pas, though? I just don't see it happening any time in our lifetimes.
A couple of cigarettes each year is not going to increase your chances of health problems any more than a couple of drinks. Yet, we look down upon the people who even try a cigarette just once.
And what about drinking and driving? One drink is legally okay in most jurisdictions, and generally considered to still be safe, but it is often taboo to even do that these days. Zero tolerance is a strong meme in that area.
And those attitudes are not necessarily bad, but it takes what does cause harm in excess and applies the same logic to moderation. I'm just not certain alcohol is immune to those same social pressures.
Pretty much everyone agrees that it's bad to be an alcoholic. Most people get annoyed with people that routinely get sloppy, out of control drunk. That's already socially unacceptable.
The general consumption of alcohol becoming an outright social faux pas, though? I just don't see it happening any time in our lifetimes.