What do cigarettes cost?

[Aegon]

Not sure, never really thought about it. Particularly since smoking cigs just isn't that big of a deal in my generation. We're going to have to wait and see what sorts of health complications are caused by vaping over the next 40-50 years!

But on principle I don't think it's fair to make health care services an issue of morality, i.e. you don't deserve the same level of care at affordable prices because we have determined you're an idiot. That sounds messed up.

You don' t have to be an idiot to smoke.

You just have to choose to do something you know is very dangerous. You assume the liability.

Therefore - you - and you alone should pay for it.

And £55 a pack sounds reasonable.

Give the tobacco companies a pound or two - give the rest to the healthcare system.


That's fair.

I'm going to go ahead and slip down the slope and say what's to stop you from saying obese people should be liable for any care they receive from eating too much? Or, hell, anybody who does anything that is known to be harmful to you - drink alcohol, drink soda, eat white bread, listen to music too loudly too often, bike without a helmet on, not look both ways before crossing the street - should they be liable for any associated expenses? Are the only people who should be covered angels who never did a bad thing in their life? ("Bad," of course, being defined by the society-at-large)

I think I'd rather a healthcare system not discriminate, period, costs be damned. Where will it end if you allow it?