This is not the first time this has happened.
I understand that Paul McCartney's cigarette was "removed" from the Abbey Road sleeve some time ago.
(& let's forget about Britney Spears Bowdlerised version of Satisfaction)
The original artwork for the "Yesterday & Today" compilation was withdrawn all together after Capitol got cold feet.
If you have a copy of this now it is worth serious money.
Perhaps if you posess copies of the precensorship artwork for any of these albums you should look upon them as an investment.
I find myself wondering what Lennon would have thought of the idea that one day Tobacco would become the most controversial of his choices amongst recreational drugs.