Definition

Epidemiological studies have identified links between

smoking and a wide range of medical conditions, from
heart disease to male impotence. Informations on the harm

This house would not that smoking causes are available. Indeed, in many
countries, health warnings are printed on all tobacco
make state health care products. It is therefore reasonable to assume that smokers
are aware of the effects that smoking has on their health
available to smokers but they keep smoking. This house would deny smokers on
accessing state health care so that they will encourage

8 smokers to stop the habit and make non-smokers do not

take the habit.

Denying access to healthcare for smokers would  In 2016 at UK A new YouGov survey of
act as a deterrent, discouraging smokers more than 2000 people revealed 62%
believed the NHS should not bear the full
Governments should do everything they can to discourage cost of treating the self-inflicted damage
smoking. They already attempt to do so in a number of done by smoking.
ways, such as through ensuring graphic health warnings are  Studies in Germany on 2012 found that
present on all tobacco packaging. Many states have also Employees who worked in places that
introduced legislation banning smoking indoors in an maintained or implemented smoke-free
attempt to discourage the habit. However, smoking is still a policies were nearly twice as likely to
massive problem - millions of people still do it. stop smoking as employees who worked
in places that allowed smoking
everywhere.
The refusal of medical treatment to smokers
would surely be a massive deterrent to
current/potential smokers from
As smokers have a higher chance of harm from  a study of wound and other complications after hip or
surgery due to complications arising from their habit, knee surgery, no smoker who quit beforehand
it is more efficient to prioritize non-smokers developed a wound infection compared with 26% of
ongoing smokers and 27% of those who only reduced
Failure to quit smoking before surgical procedures tobacco use. Overall complications were reduced to 10%
increases cardiac and pulmonary complications, impairs in those who quit smoking compared with 44% in those
tissue healing, and is associated with more infections and who continued.
other complications at the surgical site.
This means that surgery costs more on average for smokers
Many people have to wait for surgery when they have fallen ill or gotten
and is also less likely to be effective. Treating more smokers
injured through no fault of their own. Many of the people they are waiting
behind have fallen ill out of choice. This includes smokers who have means devoting more resources for lower results.
contracted diseases as a result of their habit. Non-smokers are forced to wait Therefore, prioritizing non-smokers, at least in certain areas
in a queue for treatment behind those who have negligently made of healthcare, would be beneficial to society as a whole.
The economic
Smokers
themselves ill smoking. costs
are a drainof smoking:
on economic resources  InWHOtermsestimates
of health spend attributable
that the drain to smoking,
on thethis
totaled
world $422bn
economy (£337bn) equivalent
exceeds thetototal
nearly annual
6 per cent
Smokers
Healthcare
contribute expenditures
a disproportionatelyattributable
large amountto theto
of
expenditure on health in all low- and and
the global total, with the highest share in Europe
thetreatment of smoking-related
cost of healthcare. They are a drain on diseases
resources. in
the Americas.
middle-income countries. In Europe, the
active smokers and those affected by
A well-informed
second-hand smoke. smoker, unable or unwilling to quit, might burden from smoking, according to a
assume
Lossan ofincreased
earnings, riskemployee
for himself but he wouldand
absence also be report submitted to the EC in 2012, cost
indirectly
reduced increasing the likelihood
workplace of others being unable
productivity. the economy €544 billion in 2009.
to access necessary healthcare
The monetised value ofand this is not fair.
premature Allowing  In the UK it is estimated that up to 9,500 beds are
mortality
The and
smokerslawdisability
towould actas
take scarce assessed
asbeds or organs
a deterrent by disability-
needed
against for
attempts to Indeed,
blockedmanydaily bydoctors
smokers,already
and that upenquire about
to 8 million
adjusted
transplants - life-years
that could lost.
otherwise go
conceal a smoking habit to procure healthcareto those suffering their patients' smoking statuses on an informal
doctor consultations are required on their behalf
from Other
genuine indirect costs- issuch
misfortunes as fire
an unjust damage
allocation of basis.
Thererelatedaretorealistic
smokingways and costsa policy
relatedof to denyingIt is each year.
resources. also particularly hard to lie about being a
healthcare
cleaning up accessafterto smokers could be carriedsmoker for two reasons. First, other people
smoke.
out. Insurance companies already ask lots ofinevitably see you smoking. This means an
 Denying accesscannot
The smokers to healthcare againstwill
for smokers
be discriminated According
In a state to Harvard
like France, where School
20 perofcent
Public
of Health
the in
because ofof
lead to thousands their addiction
people being turned 2010. smoking
population, 12 million reduces
people,lifeare
expectancy
smokers, by 2.5a
such
Denying healthcare to smokers is a restriction on  The
policyyearsWHO
would Constitution
forleave
men, abut (1946)
obesity
large envisages
reduces
minority “…the
life
unable to access
Ifaway
you areand potentially
going dying
to discriminate from
against preventable
smokers then surely
people's liberties highest attainable
expectancy by 1.3standard
years of
and health
if highas
basic healthcare for issues that may be unrelated to a
blood
you should discriminate against alcohol drinkers and people
illnesses fundamental right oftoevery
who do extreme sports as they are also knowingly theirpressure
smokingishabit.
added thathuman being.”
by a total of 2.8 years
Whether or not you believe it should be, smoking tobacco  According to WHO Understanding health as a
The denial of themselves.
access to healthcare for should all are preventable so why should only smoking
endangering
is legal. At the same time, Maybe
healthcareyou issmokers
regarded is aaspolicy
discriminatea humanitright
Furthermore, maycreates
lead toathelegalridiculous
obligationsituation
on states to
that willpeople
against
fundamentaldirectly leadchoose
who
human to thealongside
right, turning
to live inaway
rightsoftomillions
polluted cities.
education, of
And be discriminated against?
people, merely for making one perfectly legal,isif to
ill-advised
wherebyensure access
smokers areto timely,
dying acceptable,
from and affordable
preventable diseases
then and
food there are drug
water. users.someone
Denying healthcare impede despite hospitals
health carebeing
of appropriate quality
lifestyle choice. under-utilized, as a fifth of the
upon his/her basic liberties and this cannot be justified  According
Not all of the smokers can afford private health care, while population is no longer allowed to WHO The right to health must be
in.
when, in the
you know eyes
that of the
private law, they
health care have done
is more nothingthan
expensive enjoyed without discrimination on the grounds of
wrong. Criminals
state health care,have the right
because to healthcare
insurance only cover– itmost
is often
of the race, age, ethnicity or any other status. Non-
that you hear that the trial
treatment in state health care. of a war criminal is being discrimination and equality requires states to take
delayed while they receive treatment. steps to redress any discriminatory law, practice or
Denying access to healthcare for smokers will  Quite apart from productivity, as The Guardian
hurt the economy notes, smokers in the United Kingdom also
contribute over £10 billion to government coffers
Economically, the healthcare of the nation is important through the tobacco tax. To lose this source of
for maintaining a productive workforce. Do we really revenue will do more to hurt national health
want to lose otherwise functional members of the services than the occasional complication in
workforce the first time they contract an aggravated surgery granted to a smoker. Lastly, because
“Most
throat adult smokers
infection start asafford,
and cannot kids and were drawn
or delay for in  Denying access to healthcare for smokers is impractical,
smokers die younger than non-smokers, though
by tobacco
financial companies
reasons, advertising
a simple course oftheir glitzy
antibiotics? and therefore an unrealistic policy goal. First, the extent to
they cost more per year, over their lifetime their
which care is denied is questionable. Does the proposition
products. They are hooked on them before they know
average
model health
include costs
denying are lower
palliative care?than those
Further, of it
does
what’s happening.
longer-living,
include non-smokers.
denying emergency procedures such as
“The companies make obscene profits from their resuscitation in the case of a heart attack? If it does, where
are patients supposed to go? Private emergency rooms are
customers and we should be demanding money from
few and far between, or non-existent, in many countries –
them, not from
The added cost the peoplehealthcare
to public who are hooked on these
that comes as a  never
In Britain for example,
mind private theySecond,
ambulances. have attempted
in order to to
products.”
result of diseases brought upon by smoking is vastly avoid this
encourage by establishing
smokers standards
to stop smoking, under
the process which
needs to
outweighed by the amount of money governments involve reactivating
surgery is deniedaccess to healthcare
to obese if smokers
patients. Thomas quit.
But
around the world receive in taxes on tobacco. Condliff, the patient, was denied gastric bandwill
any cut-off point at which the right is re-activated
necessarily be arbitrary.
The UK currently takes around 60% of the cost of a surgery due to having a body mass index lower
pack of cigarettes in tax duty. In 2008, the US took than the threshold under which they believed