My point was not that nicotine was not harmful but that we acknowledge that addicts can keep smoking without bringing up prior demons of the addiction that caused the psychological damage. Unless you are saying that addicts must also quit smoking when they quit their drug of choice, whether or not it has dangerous chemicals is irrelevant to the argument. Lots of things are harmful, but that was not what this thread was about.

I am also not sure how the comments on psych meds relate, either. I was merely arguing against the notion that alcohol is inherently bad since it is a drug. If this were true, than all of the other drugs I have listed, and many more, would also be off-limits. If the argument is, alcohol is a drug therefore it is bad, then it would have to also be true that psych meds are therefore bad...

I think it is arrogant to assume one has the answer for all addicts. It is also possible that the outliers are the addicts who become alcoholics--I know more drug addicts who successfully drink than addicts who have become alcoholics. Your context defines what story you will find. We are both using anecdotes as evidence, it is impossible to say which the outlier is.