What other widespread way of consuming nicotine was there before patches and vapes?

I'm all for measures looking to curb smoking, but the issue is that nicotine seems to be put in the same category, at least judging by PSAs in France. Every nicotine-containing product has scary messages on it, although not to the point of actual cigarettes.

I think it's the general trend of losing nuance in public discourse. Things are either all bad or all good. This only confuses to public who can't be reasonably expected to peruse PubMed and build their own understanding of the subject.