RebYidd23 – That is a very big statement that “giving someone cigarettes is a sin”. Whether smoking itself is Muttar or Assur is, as has been posted here many times in the past, a fierce debate. An addicted smoker is only more lenient. And even if it is assur, it does not mean that it is assur to give him cigarettes. But that isn’t todays discussion.
Giving money to somebody in need is a mitzvah. Tzedoko. If the guy needs medication to ease suffering from an illness he caught, you would give it to him. Smoking – to a truly addicted smoker – is no more than an illness. Perhaps sponsoring clinical help to stop his addiction would be more ideal, but for the short term, cigarettes is a need.
Bear in mind, he isn’t collecting for cigarettes. They are coming to collect for families with medical conditions, with no food for Shabbos, with no money for weddings. It so happens that a small expense includes smoking. But not giving him because he also smokes means denying his innocent children shabbos food.