Don Y wrote:
On 9/15/2015 3:38 PM, bob haller wrote:

Watching someone smoke themselves to death is, to me, a big shrug.

As stupid as smoking seems to me, I agree. Obviously there are benefits
to smoking - it calms, energizes, suppresses appetite. Maybe more. And
who is anyone to say a informed adult cannot make the choice to add some
enjoyment to his good years at the expense of reducing the number of his
bad years?

Helps the finances of the Social Security and Medicare programs, too.

the costs to try and save smokers lives is astronmical///////

anyone who smokes shouldnt be covered by health insurance for smoking
releated illnesses.....

What about folks who drink? Are overweight? Don't exercise? Don't
eat right? Don't get the proper amount of sleep? Use recreational
drugs? Consume too much caffeine? Work long hours? etc. Each of
these have associated costs. Where do you draw the line?

require the tobacco companies to pay for their ill health..

In *theory*, the individual pays the cost for their "bad habits"
(along with genetic issues). In *reality*, we subsidize bad behaviors
(just like we subsidize bad policies).

Should insurers rate folks *individually*? I.e., assess *your* particular
"expected costs" and set the premium based on that? Stop grouping
folks into broad classes to distribute the risk?

and smoking around any child should be proscuted as what it really is,
child
abuse

What about folks with "tempers"? Alcoholics? Addicts (of any sort)?
People who are psychologically "unfit"?

It's relatively easy to come up with a list that just grows -- each
addition
"making sense" (to someone).

N.B. I am not taking a stand on any of these issues. Rather, pointing
out how easily this sort of thinking can get out of hand.

I have a buddy who believes healthcare should be "free". Of course, that
means we all pay for each other. Should I, then, be able to *prevent*
him from indulging in the habits that he has (smoking, poor sleeping
habits, diet, etc.) on the grounds that *I* am paying for *his*
healthcare?

I always wonder why healthcare should be provided to people who don't
care of themselves. Our system should pay more attention to preventive
medicine than treatment oriented medicine. It should start from training
medical student. Also note, N. American doctors prescribe more
drugs than any other in the world.