Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Would the NHS be on its knees if everyone stopped smoking? -

Would the NHS be on its knees if everyone stopped smoking? -

smoking costs the NHS in scotland £140 million a year.
21% of people smoke in scotland (about 1-500-000 people) This means
If the 21% all smoke an average of 10 cigarettes a day which would cost them about £2.20- they are paying £1.50 of this as tax - then they will be paying £2-250-000 a DAY to the government- the majority of which goes straight to NHS funding. This means that the government is making almost 9 BILLION pounds a year from smokers in Scotland......dont you think they are paying their own health costs as well as contributing to others?????????Yes, and so would the Govenrnment with the amount they extract from tobacco as tax. Same goes for booze. These bad habits are what pay for our tanks in Iraq.It-s true that smokers more than contribute enough in tax to cover their own healthcare. That doesn-t mean that they should carry on, though. There are a number of other reasons they should stop.
1. It-s bad for them: Surely they don-t want to die of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke or peripheral vascular disease?
2. It-s bad for the health of people near them
3. It smells disgusting and is antisocial as people drop their cigarette butts everywhere they go - especially out of car windows -yuk! Why is it somehow acceptable to smokers to drop a butt on the street but not other litter. It-s the same, isn-t it?
4. It costs the smokers a lot of money. Think what they could be spending it on!!!!The Health Costs of Smoking

£1.7 to £2.5 billion is spent by the National Health Service treating diseases caused by smoking a year.


The state also pays sickness/invalidity benefits, widow-s pensions and other benefits for dependents


Every day an average of 9,500 beds are occupied by people suffering from smoking related diseases.


Every year 285,000 people are admitted to NHS hospitals to be treated for diseases related to smoking.


British industry loses at least 50 million working days every year from smoking related sick leave.

Plus of course just coz people smoke does not mean to say they will not need treatment for other illnesses.

So the answer is a big no. The benefits of people stopping would far outweigh income from tax

KenDamned right we are. (spit).yes the NHS would crumble if everyone were to give up smoking. Tax burgers instead!omg
Would the NHS be on its knees if everyone stopped smoking? -