to me it would depend on the smell.

cedar, although it would be odd for my game to smell of a tree, wouldn't be bad.
a chain smoker though, that's something that would damage value.

some smoking is ok and occasionally beneficial (especially in coastal areas) but when its sticky with tar and it dis colors it some times theres no coming back.

speaking of discoloring cedar isn't a cure all for collectables, you have to be careful of the oils in the wood it self that come naturally and what generally produce the smell
while good for somethings it can be bad for others, it can destroy your boxes and paper documentation. any one who stores a comic book in a cedar box with out a few layers of protection is a moron, I wouldn't rick putting it in a cedar chest unless it was lacquered and felted on the inside really good. it would keep the bug away like silverfish though.

if your thinking of storing it IN cedar, I wouldn't. although having ceader linings near by isn't a bad idea