It’s anecdotal, but a recurring ‘joke’ is that smoking (was, see UK law) an informal symptom of long term mental health issues generally - due to needing something to do while mostly homebound (domestically or institutionally.)
More generally, here in the UK perspective, it was the smoke allergy and second-hand smoke effects that were drivers for the indoors ban. _(Especially including a famous beloved entertainer dying painfully of lung cancer despite never smoking, but because of the pubs and clubs he worked in all his life.)_
I’m not sure that much of if any of that is due to the nicotine content, and while the US certainly doesn’t have the same laws as we do, the same public health effects would certainly still exist, and be a practical issue. (This from the perspective of looking at why this would not be a good thing, of course - as the OP alludes, non-addictive is a positive for instance, and the are possible uses in quitting smoking, and the muscle/action habit is the same. 
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