Not economic, historical. It's purely because both were things before the puritan movement (which still greatly impacts society today) and people are already familiar with them. If alcohol were discovered today, there's no way in hell it would be legal

So of course they’re both very old staples in human culture, but I mean to say that any attempts to regulate them are/will be met with more economic resistance than cultural… like Anheiser-Busch (spelling definitely wrong) and Philip-Morris (now Altria I believe) would be a bigger obstacle than “the people.”

Do cigarettes have such a big mind-altering effect?

I can’t speak personally, but people often get from nicotine what they would also get from marijuana- both have a “high” that makes you feel “different”, and the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine are more like those of meth than marijuana (which as far as I know, has no withdrawal since it’s non-addictive).