Here in my country, our society is not as harsh against smokers as your society against them. In general we see smokers as people who suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder which they can only control through the consumption of nicotine. They can be either good or bad people, we don't judge their character or the things they are capable of just based on their condition as smokers.
In a societal level, smoking is acceptable here in Venezuela, but it is adviced against because of the serious health problems it could bring in the future and the cost of cigarettes which slowly accumulate through the year and makes one budget to suffer in this already difficult economy.