There's a huge difference between addiction from games and apps, and actual severe physical addiction from a drug like tobacco that also leads to cancer. I'm not saying app addiction is inconsequential: it is not. But comparing it to something that literally causes cancer is hyperbole.

Gambling is definitely comparable to (and possibly worse than) cigarettes. Gambling has ruined plenty of lives, and it can ruin your life in a few days while smoking takes decades.

Addiction can be horribly destructive without causing physical harm.

I don't know how bad these apps are. Gambling apps can be as bad as a slot machine or a roulette wheel, but we have no idea what kind of psychological damage the more insidious ones cause.

And there is physical harm. Obesity is a public health crisis. I don't know to what extent these apps contribute to it, but it's not zero.

Depression, suicide and social isolation are real problems; it's not just people wasting time in pointless apps.

And these are not caused by apps in isolation; suicide rates today in the US are lower than what they were in the 70s. Young people are the least likeliest groups to commit suicide or have depression. Again, that is not to say that there have never been cases where social media and apps have caused suicides or severe depression. It's just not a significant driver of deaths like illness like tobacco.

Also poverty. Not claiming that poverty is caused by addictive games but it sure doesn't help to spend money on what is essentially a gambling addiction.

Sure. It's hyperbolic, but it's definitely not a joke.

Also, the two aren't as far apart as they seem at first. There are a variety of groups for helping people quit games. [1] I've had friends say it was easier to quit smoking than it was to quite Warcraft. And when doctors say, "sitting is the new smoking", they aren't just whistling dixie. [2]

[1] E.g.: https://gamequitters.com/ or http://www.olganon.org/ or http://cgaa.info/

[2] http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/11/health/sitting-increases-risk-...