Ham and bacon actually have a slightly different taste.
Although ham and bacon come from pigs they are usually cut from different parts of the pig.
Bacon in my opinion tastes quite a bit different than ham and I can really tell the difference between ham and bacon when I eat either one.
The reason you can eat ham without cooking it first is because the ham is not really raw to begin with.
Most ham that you buy is cured whether smoked cured or salt cured and the curing process of the ham makes it safe to eat without cooking it.
Actual raw ham would not be safe to eat but the ham that you buy in the stores is cured so it's ready to eat.
For example if you removed ham from a pig on your own and then ate it raw then that raw ham would make you sick.
But the ham that is cured first whether smoke cured or salt cured is safe to eat because curing the ham kills bacteria.
Bacon is usually not cured and so you have to cook that bacon before eating it.
So with store bought hams you can just heat it up or eat the ham cold.
I prefer to heat the ham up first though as it tastes better warm and not cold.