Why are cigarettes still legal when the EPA considers nicotine an acutely toxic hazardous waste??

Not only that but nicotine in chemical form is used as a pesticide and found in every tobacco product naturally. Nicotine is even on the DEA's Schedule 1 list of controlled substances as a derivitive of nicocodiene and nicomorphine.

Cigarettes are still legal for the same reason they rovoked prohibition. The general population would just FIND a way to sell cigs no matter what. There are still too many smokers in the world that would raise a hue and a cry if the government tried to ban all smoking. We can only fight the battles in our own little area of the world to try and make things better. Try it. It actually works some of the time and by winning the little battles we can make a difference in someone else's life. I see the negative side of first and second hand smoke every day in my line of work. It always blows (no pun intended) me away that people would knowingly poison themselves like that!

I think its because the tobacco companies are so powerful

Because they got one hell of a lobby, as well as the agricultural
lobby from the tobacco growing states.
Imagine if crack had that kind of support. . ..

Because our government makes money on them. Tobacco companies are probably filling pockets!!!

Two words: Tobacco Lobby

The answer to your question is that tobacco, food, drugs, cosmetics, and other consumer items have been exempt from most EPA regulations since EPA came into being and they are regulated under other laws. All of these up until they become a consumer product are highly regulated by EPA.