There is rampant double counting, of course. If you Google to find out how many Americans are killed by smoking each year for, let’s say, 2018 through 2021. The first two years are pre-covid, the last two during covid.
Notice how there is no change whatsoever in the smoking deaths before and after covid? It’s almost like they would have you believe that covid didn’t kill one single smoker.
Note that the smoking death numbers very specifically do not say number of smokers who die from any cause. They consistently make it a point to emphasize that smoking is directly responsible for the deaths. Often by bolding the phrase smoking kills x number of people per year. (Currently it says 480,000, which is essentially the same number reported for 30 straight years now. Seems kind of fishy that that number never changes.)
Here’s a post I made 8 years ago on this topic. The rest of the thread is fairly short, where I go back and forth with DrDeth.
I would like to point out that if you Google right now at this moment how many people smoking kills in the United States each year, Google says 480,000. In the linked thread, DrDeth immediately replies with a cite that says “more than 480,000.” Eight years later, the exact same number. What are the odds!