Smokers to be given second class healthcare
Smokers will be denied life-changing operations unless they agree to kick the habit, it was revealed today.
Cash-strapped hospitals say patients will not be given treatments such as hip and knee replacements until they try to give up. Those who fail could be denied treatment all together.
Regular readers will know I support something similar to this. I support banning free healthcare for treatments to do with smoking related illnesses. I don’t support banning all free healthcare just because a person smokes.
Smokers pay a lot of taxes. If they are going to be given a blanket ban on all treatment I assume the government will remove tax on tobacco and make smokers pay less in national insurance payments seeing as they will be given second class healthcare?
(Hat tip A Tangled Web)
2 comments:
Hey, much appreciate your blogging on the tobacco ban issue. I work at the Drug Policy Alliance, the worlds leading organization promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. I am contacting you because I think we could have an interesting dialogue on this subject, agreeing on some points and disagreeing on others, but all and all productive and interesting. You can check out our myspace page, website, and posts on YouTube. Also, we will be releasing a poll this Thursday regarding Americans feelings towards cigarette bans, and in particular, making cigarettes illegal. The results are quite shocking. We will have a tobacco page set up this week on our website to expand on the issues involved in the poll results. I would love for you to check out our materials, and blog your response. It should be an interesting and educational debate. Thanks,
and great work,
Sarah
I don't think you would like my opinions on the issues of drugs.
While I do support legalisation of drugs and I do believe people should be able to smoke wherever they want, I also believe that if you get a smoking related illness like lung cancer you should pay for your healthcare yourself and not rely on the state to fund your own mistakes.
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