Other Than Costs Borne By The Smoker, Does Smoking Have A Social Cost?

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600 · 3h Average price of a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in European capital cities. European smokers must love Turkey. Source: https://buff.ly/3QkPy3K 

David Pecchia @dpecchia · 3h Dear European smokers, every cent you pay above $1.35 is tax. 

Bona Dea @BonaDaDea · 3h So what? 

David Pecchia @dpecchia · 3h If I smoked, I would feel cheated by paying the tax man more for giving me nothing (that a non-smoker doesn't also get), than I was paying the company which actually produced the product I use. 

Lucas @Eeylop · 3h That is exactly the point. Discouragement through taxes. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 2h So Europeans think it's okay to vote for people to discourage them from things? That seems absolutely idiotic. Why would I vote for someone who wants to discourage me from doing legal things that I enjoy? 

 Lucas @Eeylop · 2h Because it is a public health measure. Society saves a huge amout of money by needing to treat fewer people with lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc caused by smoking. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 2h This isn't true. We will all become sick and die someday. A smoker will do this sooner and hence collect government pension for less time. But beside all of that, this is a great argument against socialized medicine: Now, everything is everyone's business. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 2h How about making your income tax rate be tied to your BMI? A tax on not wearing a helmet at all times, or doing any risky sport, or on failure to exercise daily? You see the totalitarianism inherent in such a system. 

 Lucas @Eeylop · 2h You do realize that there is a difference between taxing unhealthy products, and taxing people for being overweight? Denmark (and others?) have tried taxing sugar extra, but it became too unpopular. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 2h An obese person who only eats healthy things is a greater burden on the healthcare system than a fit person who indulges in junk-food every so often. So, it makes a lot more sense to tax on excess BMI than on so-called unhealthy foods. 

 Lucas @Eeylop · 1h But why is our hypothetical obese person obese in spite of only eating healthy foods? Maybe there is an eating disorder involved? Maybe the eating disorder is caused by childhood abuse? My hypothetical person will at least have access to universal health care to deal with that. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 57m What I was going for, was that the obese person is fat because he eats too much. The fit person eats in moderation, even if some of what he eats is considered unhealthy.

 Maybe smokers smoke because of childhood abuse? Why punish them for this small comfort? 

 Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600 No punishment but paying for the social cost of smoking. In Australia the Cancer Council published the below figures. Same argument is used when people talk about a sugar tax (obesity). Source: https://cancer.org.au/media-releases/2019/new-report-highlights-the-137-billion-cost-of-smoking#:~:text=Tangible%20costs%20of%20smoking%20identified,to%20treat%20smoking%2Drelated%20conditions 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 28m Replying to @simongerman600 and @Eeylop The accounting in the source is flawed. They count the cost of medical care caused by smoking but don't subtract the cost which would have been spent later, if people didn't smoke and lived long enough to become ill with something not caused by smoking. 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia Replying to @dpecchia @simongerman600 and @Eeylop

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22449823/#:~:text=Results%3A%20The%20results%20showed%20that,from%20a%20higher%20mortality%20rate. Translate Tweet pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov [Lifetime medical expenditures of smokers and nonsmokers] - PubMed In conclusion, although smoking may not result in an increase in lifetime medical expenditures, it is associated with diseases, decreased life expectancy, lower quality of life (QOL), and generally... 5:35 PM · Aug 8, 2022·Twitter Web App 

 David Pecchia @dpecchia · 26m Replying to @dpecchia @simongerman600 and @Eeylop

 Results: The results showed that although smokers had generally higher annual medical expenditures than nonsmokers, the former's lifetime medical expenditure was slightly lower than the latter's because of a shorter life expectancy that resulted from a higher mortality rate.