Is cost the only criterion for the state?
we also know that smokers die 10 years before non-smokers thus saving the taxpayer 10 years of the old-age pension plus any other public sector pension payments if these exists.
The state should act to enable the greatest happiness of the citizens in my view.
That could either mean less Nanny state or more if you think the state defines happiness itself.
On the smoking issue I imagine the state has its costs well-met with the high level of taxes, tho with all the smuggling which state is the question!
Budget 2013 Headline: Ireland introduces free cigarettes in schools.
They won't do as well in sports but they might have better memories. I've heard about studies showing that nicotine helps in concentration
lolz. I've just quit after twenty years, my experience would lead me to disagree with the above statement. While I'm against the nanny state concept, I do think that fags will be illegal within 50-100 years. Either that or they'll just be taxed out of the reach of the working class.
compared to the obesity epidemic, both tobacco and alcohol pale into insignificance.
- source.Cost of obesity doubles to €3 billion
- [broken link removed]It costs the State €2 billion a year to provide health services to smokers and €1 million a day in productivity is lost because of smoking.
- [broken link removed]Smoking is the single biggest cause of illness, disability and death in Ireland.
- source.THE Government should "seriously consider" raising taxes on alcohol to reduce the estimated €3.7 billion cost to the state from alcohol abuse, according to a HSE report on the issue.
- source.This is hard to quantify but it is estimated it cost the nation over €2.2 BILLION annually.
Three-quarters of all health expenditure in Ireland relates to chronic diseases, almost all of which are hugely influenced by obesity. In addition, obesity has a significant impact on the welfare budget, through unemployment and disability payments.
This direct fiscal cost of obesity in Ireland was officially estimated at €4 billion a year in 2005 – it is surely way beyond that now. There are also major indirect effects on State finances – a 10 per cent rise in obesity depresses GDP by 1 per cent, with significant knock-on effects for Government finances.
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