Why aren't smokers and drug addicts disqualified from free healthcare?

[Crazy Hand 2001]

I know it’s difficult to break an addiction and not every smoker/drug addict is like this but I’ve read about and seen many people who do not care about the consequences and would return to smoking or drug abuse once you help them. You’re wasting tax money on these people prolonging their life when you could instead give them a huge wake up call to get off the habit before it’s too late.

Forcing people to die isn’t the answer and would likely turn them into criminals and murderers because they would have nothing to lose at that point but if you’re not going to take the consequences of smoking or drug abuse seriously, why should we bother keeping you alive? I’d happily give you free health care if you are willing to quit but there’s no point in doing so if you refuse to quit.

You could make the same argument for obese people being a drain but given that they are fat shamed enough and they have trouble fitting in spaces or clothes, I wager they suffer enough that we don’t need another reason to make them suffer more.

and after reading stories about aggressive panhandlers on reddit that have robbed people, especially when they were smoking during the robbery, it indicates to me that they are taking their health for granted and want to continue being evil.

 

[Linkmain-maybe]

As someone who was lived with multiple smokers in my life… they really don’t like smoking. They understand the consequences of it, they feel they, they live through them, but nicotine is so addictive that quitting is 100x harder than it seems. Even second hand smoking is addictive.

The skin on their hands and face start to yellow. They always feel sick and will constantly battle the craving of one more smoke. They are terrified by the thought of cancer, and are saddened when the people they love tend to stay 5 feet away because they constantly smell like smoke. They hate the looks that the retail workers give them when they buy yet another pack of Newports. They are often told things like “Just quit already.”

Everyone I know who has or does smoke regrets it immensely. Being disqualified from health care isnt the solution. The solution is to help break the addiction and make sure nobody else gets addicted as well.

 

[Crazy Hand 2001]

Everyone I know who has or does smoke regrets it immensely. Being disqualified from health care isnt the solution. The solution is to help break the addiction and make sure nobody else gets addicted as well.

I’m always down for making people get off their addictions but I always have the impression that many of them are not sincerely willing to quit and are here to manipulate us into thinking that they will stop smoking when they have no plans to, the same way that someone borrowing money from you will manipulate you into thinking that they will pay you back without ever actually wanting to

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

why are you so obsessed with legally killing people

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

why are you so obsessed with legally killing people

That's not the point, Wario3.

 

[Crazy Hand 2001]

why are you so obsessed with legally killing people

i’m not.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Can staff ban this guy? This is the third thread he's made on advocating for killing off the poor, disabled people as addiction is a disability or mentally ill people. He's just gonna do this again

 

[Wigglerman]

If you're a supporter of free health care for all you can't, in the same breath, also say "Except for you.".

It doesn't matter what their habits are be it smoking or other drug use. You either support everyone being able to attain the same level of care regardless of each individuals circumstance or you aren't. There's no real 'middle ground' in this stance as far as I can tell. When free health care could provide said folks the means to get off their bad habits. Because the bottom line is people need support. Everyone needs support. It's one of the crucial steps of anyone making change in their lives. If they feel alone or are ridiculed it only makes people give up and keep doing what they were doing.

And if you draw lines in the sand of "Well, smokers/druggies can't have health care" then what other lines will people start drawing? You already tried to give obese people a pass but why not include them with smokers/druggies because they're 'a drain' just as much if not more so? What about people with serious, chronic conditions that need to use the service on the regular? Are they too a drain?