The big difference is that you don't have to drink alcohol if an unknown person next to you is drinking, while passive smoking is a real thing. Granted, peer pressure leads people to drink more than they otherwise would, but it's still something you can fight against. There's no willpower that will help you against passive smoking.

I'm not claiming that alcohol is better, just saying that in terms of getting of nuisances, you can choose to completely opt out of alcohol if you so choose, while in some places it's hard to completely avoid cigarette smoke from people around you.