Posted by
Catmman on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 1:28:30 PM
Yep.
Being fat and smoking
saves healthcare costs in the long run.
Though there is cost short term for treating smokers and the obese, it is outweighed over the long term.
Why?
Because those who are fat and smoke die earlier thereby reducing expensive healthcare costs long term.
This should come as no surprise. The older a person gets, the more they tend to utilize "health care." I have experienced this in my own life. And the older you get, the worse any illnesses can become thereby making treatment longer and therefore more costlier.
From
Local6.com:
The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.
Beware the shell game which the Left is playing by touting "universal health care." They will suck the money right out of your pocket to support a bloated bureaucracy and by the time you'll really need the care to actually keep you alive (not just going in to the Doc with the sniffles), you'll be too old. The government will rule you out as an "unneeded expense." Don't think it can happen? Look at Britain and Canada. The moment you let the government dole out health care, they become the arbiters of who gets and needs what. If your 60 years old and have a heart attack and need a bypass, transplant or just some intensive recuperative care, the government steps in and says, "You've lived for 60 years. You are retired. You don't produce anymore for the State. Care denied."
It's seems farfetched,
but it's already happening in socialized systems.
The fact is you should be allowed to live your life the way you wish. If you want to smoke, smoke. If you enjoy eating (alot), then eat to your hearts content. We are adults and should understand that there may be consequences to those actions.
One thing I find amazing though is there is no evidence at all which any doctor can point to that will say X or Y behavior will kill you earlier than being super fit. There isn't. I know that flies in the face of conventional logic, but it is true nonetheless. Just because a person smokes does not guarantee they will die any earlier than someone who doesn't. There may indeed be a greater statistical chance that a smoker might develop negative effects as opposed to a non-smoker, but it's not conclusive -
it's only a statistical chance. Ever buy a lotto ticket?
You are an adult. You roll the dice. But the government should have no say in how you roll those dice - or even if you
CAN roll them.
If you want insurance, then go out and pay for it. If you don't fine.
But if you get sick,
it's not my responsibility to provide your health care for you.
I've got me and mine to worry about.