28-12-2012, 04:14 PM
81
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Ah, but it's not just the tax that smokers pay to the government. If they die early, then they won't be getting a pension (plus other benefits), so that also offsets the cost to the NHS!OK, that might be trivialising the matter, but it's not just a case of stop smoking and we'll save £2.7 billion. It's a complex issue involving many things - and I'm sure if everyone stopped smoking, something else would come along to take its place.
And, Wrinkly, as far as I know, they already taste ruddy awful!
28-12-2012, 07:40 PM
83
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Originally Posted by oldbugger
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My use of the NHS? Excuse me, I pay my health insurance and use private health care so if I do become ill due to my smoking, I am paying for it - in both senses of the word.
I've given many 'righteous' people an earful on this subject... Of course we pay for the right to smoke a ciggie and the NHS would be in a state without that tax. Alcohol costs the NHS far more not only in care but the assaults they endure. Then their is the cost of vandalism, the affect alcohol is having on the youngsters...accidents on the road..etc.. You are so correct -that 'education' in schools is what is needed - the sooner the better - and bring back the youth clubs, where we were happy with a coffee and soft drink. It could be that way again - if 'sense' prevailed among the 'adults'....
28-12-2012, 08:21 PM
84
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Originally Posted by Elbee
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You are paying (wasting) around £8,200 a year to shorten your life. That is more than the state pension!Over the last 43 years you have "wasted" £352,600 at today's prices.
At three packs a day, I am surprised you are still alive!
Regarding drinking and the NHS the answer is yes, if you wreck your liver by drinking too much then you should not expect the NHS to give you a transplant. But if you fall down drunk and break your arm the NHS should treat that.
We all have just one life to spend as we see fit and what suits one person may not suit another. Who is to say what is right or wrong or what gives the most enjoyment, I certainly wouldn't presume to do so.
Who wants to deprive themselves of every bit of enjoyment life has to offer with the possibility of becoming like some people I have come across unfulfilled, bitter and twisted and sitting in judgement of others, not I.
I will take my enjoyment where I can find it and suggest others do the same
29-12-2012, 12:05 AM
85
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Originally Posted by Elbee
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You are paying (wasting) around £8,200 a year to shorten your life. That is more than the state pension!Over the last 43 years you have "wasted" £352,600 at today's prices.
At three packs a day, I am surprised you are still alive!
Regarding drinking and the NHS the answer is yes, if you wreck your liver by drinking too much then you should not expect the NHS to give you a transplant. But if you fall down drunk and break your arm the NHS should treat that.
I don't see how you're surprised I'm still alive, not all smokers drop dead at an allocated age, which reminds me of one of the warnings I saw the other day which read "SMOKERS DIE YOUNGER".
Smokers die younger eh? Than what? What they would die at if they didn't smoke? But then how can you say that since we can't live parallel lives in which we smoke in one and don't in the other.
It is simply a scare tactic which they can get away with because, well, it's tobacco! I say no more.
29-12-2012, 08:54 AM
86
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
I recently watched a very good programme about 'chance' in which the presenter touched on the subject of things which influenced our life span.He illustrated this nicely by a group of "him" going through life. As age progressed, people would randomly 'drop out' , but there was a chance that one of them might make it to 100. For smokers, statistically, more dropped out along the way, but there was still a chance that some would make it to a ripe old age.
It is simply an average. It seems true that smokers (heavy ones anyway) do on average die younger than non-smokers. But it is only an average.
Another statistic that I heard on a different programme was that wealthy smokers tended to live longer than poor non-smokers!
29-12-2012, 01:07 PM
87
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Interesting. Presumably overweight people should not be treated on the NHS either as their problems are self inflicted !http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/he...r-alcohol.html
A rising tide of diseases caused by poor diet and couch potato lifestyles are costing the health service more than £6bn a year – around twice as much as the amount spent on ill health linked to smoking or alcohol, according to a new study.
The paper, by experts from Oxford University and the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, says obesity and poor diet now place "the largest economic burden" on the NHS of all lifestyle choices.
Experts said that while the individual health risks of smoking and excess drinking are high, resulting in billions spent treating liver disease and lung cancer, the far higher numbers of people eating a poor diet had as great an impact on NHS costs.
The percentage of adults who smoke has almost halved since the 1970s, while obesity levels have quadrupled, with one in four adults now classed as obese.
Obesity and poor diet are linked to heart disease
Ellen Mason, from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "The number of people smoking has fallen a lot in recent decades, and although alcohol is a big problem for some people, when you are looking at numbers, diet – and the poor diet – is the thing that affects most people."
The senior cardiac nurse said a generation who did not know how to cook, and a widespread reliance on junk food, meant the average diet contained levels of fat and sugar that increased the risks of many diseases.
She said: "For a lot of people, the problem is eating too much, and obesity is linked to a host of health problems – but there are other people who look slim and healthy, yet the salt and fat content of their diet puts them at risk of stroke, heart disease and other risks from high blood pressure."
The research, led by Prof Peter Scarborough, from Oxford University's department of public health estimates the costs of smoking related diseases at £3.3bn, with the same cost placed on treatments linked to alcohol.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Form, said the cost of treating diseases linked to Britain's eating habits was now threatening to overwhelm health service budgets.
He said: "The costs are staggering – this is bringing the NHS to its knees."
"The lifestyle of the average Briton is increasingly based on snacks, junk food and ready meals, and most people just don't think about the huge damage this can cause".
The study, funded by the BHF, was published in the Journal of Public Health.
29-12-2012, 07:24 PM
88
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Originally Posted by Grumblewagon
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I recently watched a very good programme about 'chance' in which the presenter touched on the subject of things which influenced our life span. He illustrated this nicely by a group of "him" going through life. As age progressed, people would randomly 'drop out' , but there was a chance that one of them might make it to 100. For smokers, statistically, more dropped out along the way, but there was still a chance that some would make it to a ripe old age.
It is simply an average. It seems true that smokers (heavy ones anyway) do on average die younger than non-smokers. But it is only an average.
Another statistic that I heard on a different programme was that wealthy smokers tended to live longer than poor non-smokers!
I can believe that wealthy smokers live longer than poor non-smokers, because even if smoking does damage your body you can get better treatment for it which prolongs your life whereas a non-smoker may not be as "damaged" but if they do fall ill they won't get as good care for it.
19-02-2013, 05:21 PM
89
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
I never heard such a lot of crying, whinging , boo-hooing etc than I have here from all those who refuse to stop a disgusting habit that not only kills them but kills so many others as well. Always wittering on about 'It's my right to do this or do that with my own body'. Alway moaning about how other, self inflicted killer illnesses aren't as persecuted as they are. Well tough luck, if you want to do it then pay for it and stop moaning, most of us non smokers don't give a fiddlers about how much it costs you to be honest.19-02-2013, 05:25 PM
90
Re: Yet another slap in the face for smokers
Originally Posted by oldbugger
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Very interesting.I can believe that wealthy smokers live longer than poor non-smokers, because even if smoking does damage your body you can get better treatment for it which prolongs your life whereas a non-smoker may not be as "damaged" but if they do fall ill they won't get as good care for it.
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