I agree wit ya on principle but I believe there's a significant difference. Smoking and driving have a high potential to affect others especially in areas frequented by large numbers of people. Climbing on the other hand is less likely to affect others on a similar scale, with the exception of climbing at tourist sites. I think there are already prohibitions in place to restrict climbing activities in these areas.
There have been some highly publicized accounts of climbing related deaths and accidents. But I believe that climbing as a recreational activity will not register on the legislator's radar. There also are existing laws such as No Trespassing that restrict climbing in certain areas.
As far as safety regulations, the manufacturers of climbing equipment already incorporate safety standards into their equipment so the long arm of additional regulatory oversight is unneeded. The climber's equivalent to safety belts and helmets are seen in ropes and harnesses which are constructed to a safety standard.
I suppose there could be a 'slippery slope' concern here but I believe it's unlikely. The only exception that I can think of, off the top of my head, are those moveable mechanical climbing walls that have a rope attached to a winch or something, you know, the things that show up at the mall.