Comment by rkangel

Comment by rkangel 2 months ago

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This question has an implicit assumption that you're talking about a US-style health system and the incentives that exist in a system of that structure.

This is exactly why a structure like the UK NHS which is going for "what's the most healthcare I can get for the country with a fixed pot of money" is a better setup.

For instance, in the UK the female contraceptive pill is free to whoever wants it. Because that is a whole lot cheaper than extra (unwanted) pregnancies. Similarly the NHS has spent money on reducing smoking because that's cheaper than dealing with the health effects.

AStonesThrow 2 months ago

> the female contraceptive pill is free to whoever wants it. Because that is a whole lot cheaper than extra (unwanted) pregnancies.

Abundant contraception encourages and promotes promiscuity

> the NHS has spent money on reducing smoking because that's cheaper than dealing with the health effects.

Reducing tobacco usage makes more room for nicotine OTC and vaping to replace it. Among other stimulants.

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  • poincaredisk 2 months ago

    What do you recommend? Just letting people die of cancer and ignore teenage pregnancies?

    I don't think data supports your claim that tobacco use was merely redirected to other forms of nicotine. But even if it did, that's a success since they're less harmful.

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    • AStonesThrow 2 months ago

      I recommend that kids who go to the Bodega and pick up a pack of smokes, a tub of ice cream, and a packet of condoms, check Wikipedia for terms like "Helen of Troy", "Trojan Horse", and the eponymous war, lest their Y chromosomes combine with something in a way they thought was impossible.

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  • ywvcbk 2 months ago

    > Reducing tobacco usage makes more room for nicotine OTC and vaping to replace it. Among other stimulants.

    And? Nicotine itself is not particularly dangerous and might be even neuroprotective if consumed in moderation. Vaping as a consumption method might be problematic of course, but I don’t think there is any research showing it to be even as remotely as harmful?

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theonemind 2 months ago

The early death of smokers tends to save a long, expensive period of end-of-life care. I believe smoking deaths reduce health care costs, ironically enough.

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  • stackskipton 2 months ago

    It does, there is even a study on it. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9321534/

    Smokers also help keep pension/social security costs down since they pay into it but don't collect out of it or do for much shorter period.

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    • danielbln 2 months ago

      That study is almost 30 year old, has there been more current research? I also wonder if externalities like trauma on friends/family are factored in, I could imagine there are some transitive effects?

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