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Monday, January 28, 2013

DO PENALTIES FOR SMOKERS AND THE OBESE MAKE SENSE?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Faced with the high cost of caring for smokers and overeaters, experts say society must grapple with a blunt question: Instead of trying to penalize them and change their ways, why not just let these health sinners die prematurely from their unhealthy habits?

Annual health care costs are roughly $96 billion for smokers and $147 billion for the obese, the government says. These costs accompany sometimes heroic attempts to prolong lives, including surgery, chemotherapy and other measures.

But despite these rescue attempts, smokers tend to die 10 years earlier on average, and the obese die five to 12 years prematurely, according to various researchers' estimates.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obamacare has more negatives. This is what happens when a communist writes healthcare and neither the democratic congress nor senate READ IT BEFORE they pass it!!!! Total IDIOTS!! An epic lie by NObama and FAILURE to the American people!!

Anonymous said...

Where do you draw the line? What about drinkers, people who have unprotected sex, people who drive dangerously (speeding and/or drunk)? Prisons are full of people who choose to do drugs and look at how much that is costing the tax payers. Should we let them die when they become sick? Slippery slope people...

Anonymous said...

hell yea I am tired of seeing nothing but morbidly obese individuals on welfare! If we are paying their rent their food their electricity you can bet we are paying for their health care. And they need to show some personal responsibility and lose weight!

Anonymous said...

Smokers and Overeaters are easy targets. Give me a break -- government needs to stay out of our lives.

Anonymous said...

Obese smokers that are in Congress will be exempt, of course.

Anonymous said...

Just cut off the free money! Or are we that stupid? Weight limits and pi$$ tests. Simple, Effective. Smokers get cigars. I am no longer addicted to Nicotine!

Anonymous said...

Homosexuality is proven to dramatically increase risk of sexually transmitted infection and diseases like chlamydia, syphilis, hepatitis,HIV,AIDS and cancer therefore they should pay significantly higher premiums than normal people according to the progressive liberal logic employed to guilt smokers and fast food eaters.
Come to think of it, those same health issues are higher among progressive liberals also, therefore they should pay higher premiums than more decent cleaner living conservatives.

ginn said...

I'm already being penalized at the tune of over $3 a pack. Give it a break already.

Anonymous said...

Exactly ginn, what is O'malley doing with the MILLIONS derived from those revenues? I'm sure in his spirit of collective liberal redistribution it is funding health care for street walkers, hoods and AIDS patients in inner city B'more, NOT for me even though he is stealing it from me.

Anonymous said...

When you fill out the questionnaire, you already get a higher premium for smoking, overweight, alcohol consumption, already having diabetes, family heart and cancer history, on and on and on.

Since cars hit joggers and cyclists, maybe it's time to penalize all those healthy people.

OMG said...

To arms and keep your powder dry!