Smoking and nhs

[Gnnnik]

My old Mum had her leg chopped off, she had little left in her life and continued to enjoy a puff. It didn't heal very well as a consequence (possibly, but she was told definitively) and a few years later she died. She was rather more fortunate than my old man who was a 40 park-drive a day man, he had both his legs chopped off and met his demise rather quicker. I know if I were a smoker I'd be walking around the house on my knees toughening up potential future stumps. But I'm not, I do drink a bit but eat well. Where will all this poking our noses into other people's business end? In tears for many.

[shortcrust]

Like most I’m hoping to live for another 50 years or so and over this time HM Gov can invest my money at some sort of interest rate, maybe something small like 5% and I assume they will get a compound interest return of this over the whole period – I’m expecting them to index it to inflation but I won’t add that in these calculations so that the money at the end will be in today’s terms. In 50 years I will have contributed the equivalent of £229,236, that’s nearly a quarter of a million.

 

Save it?! They wouldn't save it, they would spend it! So your £229,236 becomes £54,750 at today's prices. Adjusting for inflation is irrelevant because the funds would be spent almost as soon as they are raised. Around half of that will go on paying the costs of smoking related diseases, so let's say £27,500. Not bad, but nothing to brag about!

 

You're forgetting of course that your most generous contribution would quite possibly come from the pension costs saved by your prematurely death.

[Gnnnik]

Save it?! They wouldn't save it, they would spend it! So your £229,236 becomes £54,750 at today's prices. Adjusting for inflation is irrelevant because the funds would be spent almost as soon as they are raised. Around half of that will go on paying the costs of smoking related diseases, so let's say £27,500. Not bad, but nothing to brag about!

 

You're forgetting of course that your most generous contribution would quite possibly come from the pension costs saved by your prematurely death.

 

No I adjusted for inflation in my care. If it goes on someone else and someone else in the future has a shortfall then it's not my fault is it? In reality my fund would have gone up because the £3 will rcket also but I took inflation out of the equation to make things comparable and in todays worth.

 

What is wrong with the debate is that smokers are paying their fare share and as far as I can see a whole lot more. As I say I don't smoke, I don't care if they do either - their choice. I just want fairness in the debate and money is not a good argument. Your money is going on keeping people alive much longer and hence they get all sorts of age related nasties. At least smokers keel over quickly, another cost that is inappropriately apportioned to them, that they drain resource. In general it's atherosclerotic clot and lights out.

[vic88]

i think smoking an nhs is crap has half the people that tell u not to smoke smoke themselfs

[chem1st]

The 81bn cuts are over 4 years.

 

20 billion cuts a year.

 

Smokers pay £1000+ per year.

45 million non smokers. £45 billion tax avoidance.

 

If they all lit up, there would be be no need to make cuts and £25+ billion extra to spend, we could build houses, repair roads.

 

We'd have the equivalent of the entire GDP of Latvia at our disposal.

[max]

Save it?! They wouldn't save it, they would spend it! So your £229,236 becomes £54,750 at today's prices. Adjusting for inflation is irrelevant because the funds would be spent almost as soon as they are raised. Around half of that will go on paying the costs of smoking related diseases, so let's say £27,500. Not bad, but nothing to brag about!

 

You're forgetting of course that your most generous contribution would quite possibly come from the pension costs saved by your prematurely death.

 

Plus all the body parts not kippered would be available for transplants. Smoke on I say, smoke on.