To think we shouldn't be funding this on the NHS?

[AgileJadeDog]

I recently had my first stay in hospital due to a respiratory issue and I kid you not, every other person in the bay smoked+had a smoking related disease.

I have no idea if this is typical in other specialties/hospitals but it really hit me how much gets spent on completely self inflicted stuff. AIBU to think we shouldn't be funding stuff like this?

I am surprised OP was on a ward with the riff raff. As a person who pays 80k in tax, I would have thought they could afford a private room.

Rather than forever increasing the ruinous funding for the NHS, I do think we need to change the message and start getting people to take care of themselves. Not just smoking, but obesity, drugs, alcoholism, etc. It's just not sustainable to keep sending the message that you can abuse your body as much as you like and the NHS will look after you for free. The welfare/nanny state has gone too far. Personal responsibility needs to be the new mantra. At the very least, those with self inflicted conditions should be put down the list behind people who equally need treatment but havn't abused themselves.

It was a respiratory ward but given what I've seen I wouldn't be surprised if the cardiac ward is full of obese people and the gastro ward is full of alcoholics/drug addicts.

So, let's say to you get skin cancer. It happens, even though you tried your best.

They say "no, sorry, this is self inflicted - you didn't use sunscreen every day"

How are you going to prove you put sunscreen on every day to prevent this?
Can you prove you applied it correctly and at the right amount?
Evidence of the factor you used?

Unfortunately life is just not this black and white. Totally unworkable proposition - hence attempting to tackle these things / raise money for NHS by taxing cigarettes etc.

You went on a tour? It's not a fucking zoo.

But no matter how perfect you are you don’t dodge illness and death forever. Then you need all the same treatment these people need now.
It’s not like you will live without any health care for ever and ever. You’re highly likely to get cancer, or heart failure, or dementia and die and need NHS care either way. They just need it now.

my dentist said they’ve stopped people using the NHS to correct turkey teeth disasters and they’ve got to go back to whoever provided the teeth.

I’ve worked in the health system for decades, and this is utterly bonkers.

OP, you should get yourself to the maternity ward, and then onto the kids fracture clinic where it’s a coin flip between monkey bars and trampolines. These feckless idiots (as it is all ultimately avoidable) are really fucking with your tax dollar!

To really blow your mind, I’ve even been in a situations where we had to treat people shot by police because they have (in different forms) attacked other people who we also treated and died. You don’t just ‘down tools’ and say ‘too bad, you made a poor choice’. That’s just not how medicine and healthcare works, and nor should it.

That's interesting, so far as i know there is no smoking in hospitals now.....

You’ll find they are full of elderly people.

So basically anyone you judge to have not lived appropriately, should die and not have treatment. Nice. I assume you consume UPF's- if you get any cancer you should be on the list on non treatables. And if you have lived in a high pollution area and not moved immediately to the country, also on the banned list. How about educating and helping not judging. How about looking at education and support instead?

Of course it should.

I think the only sports injuries we should treat on the NHS are for sterotypically working class ones like darts.

NHS cost of treating smoking related illnesses estimated at £2.6 billion a year.

Tobacco tax revenue paid to the UK government estimated at £8.8 billion per year.

Did you thank the other people on your ward for paying for your treatment?

Smokers also tend to die earlier which saves on pension payments.

You sound unpleasant.

I understand frustrations, but have smokers 'paid' for NHS treatment through paying high taxes on the tobacco and cigarettes they buy?

I suppose where do you stop? Do we not treat all addictive personalities? Suicide attempts? The wonderful thing about the NHS is that it's free for all. Although I understand that's also its potential downfall.

I'm not sure you've thought this through very well op I'm afraid. It's facile.

My neighbour was given a cigarette by a nurse whilst being treated for TB as a child, she’s been hooked ever since.
If you’re outraged by this then I dread to think what you think about all people who attend A&E with objects in their bums 🤣.

The trouble is we are currently treating an elderly generation who were perhaps smoking long before the risks were clear and would have then needed to find the will power to stop. I have less sympathy for young smokers today though who have had the risks drummed into them through childhood.

How old are you @AgileJadeDog? because the thing is even when I was growing up smoking was seen as cool and something to aspire to do (80s) you could smoke in planes restaurants etc - it was 2005 before this was banned.

smoking was advertised you could buy them at 16 etc. it is also highly addictive and very difficult to stop.

the balance of trying to get everyone probably 40+ who smokes because they started when it was seen as cool/edgy/fine and the cost of that (because it is v addictive) against the cost of treating them plus the addition in tax of them smoking and waiting it out for the generation who won’t smoke.

and that is the longer term plan - to stop smoking every happening in the first place because most smokers know what they are doing

There are many complex psychological and social reasons why people smoke/have disordered eating/ engage in destructive behaviour. Targeting the issues at a fundamental level and dealing with wider social issues would be the answer. Sadly the NHS does not have the capacity to do this so we are just firefighting the outcomes of these issues not the causes. YABU

I'm sure OP will be perfectly fine, when her child is turned away at A&E when they broke their leg from climbing a tree... After all it was risky and self inflicted.

None at all, not even in the grounds!

What country is the hospital in @AgileJadeDog ? England, Scotland, Wales or NI?

Taxation from cigarettes generates more than the cost of treating smoking related illness. You should be thanking these other patients for their contribution to our health service.