My father was a heavy smoker from a young age, and never had a heart problem. His elder brother was a non-smoker, and died of a heart attack.
My younger brother was a non-smoker, and died of a heart attack.
I am a non-smoker and had open heart surgery, after which an atrial fibrillation, which I believe resulted from the operation resulted in a stroke, and permanent health problems.
Another younger brother is a heavy smoker, and has no heart problems. He developed a lung cancer which was successfully removed by keyhole surgery.
I am not aware of any efforts to protect people like my family from the results of the efforts of the anti-smoking lobby, so it is unlikely that any figures are available to correct the wild assertions on cost to the community put forward on this thread

Armchair. Rods? No. My reinforcing was done with plates that are screwed to the bone. I can quote from medical reports etc, that I still have, that says, A compression fracture of L1 at the sacral lumbar junction that created the new stresses that eventually led to fracturing of L2 and 3. Suggest you go back to Wikipedia or wherever you collected your vastly superior medical expertise and reread if only to understand the top down number of the cervical spine is not replicated through the entire spine! That the lumbar spine is numbered, last time I looked, from the bottom up! And so represented in the X rays I still hold!

I don't see what you are trying to say, in referring to the ribcage, which was not involved in my injury!

Fentanyl kills more than ice?

Don't know about that. Ice does far more harm inasmuch as the associated collateral damage and destruction of families and family finances.

Which may then contribute in no small way to suicides?

Palliative care?

Did you know that big pharma's cancer care profits are 40% for treatment medication and 60% for end of life palliative care.
Therefore in their financial interest to manage symptoms rather than cure cancer.

And I believe, the reason why miracle cancer cure, bismuth 213 has been forbidden or massively suppressed, given it is a virtually free byproduct of MSR thorium!

Which as a power source. Is cheaper than coal cleaner than coal and safer than coal.

Didn't see any opportunity to raise the topic of MSR thorium, until you included Fentanyl in "palliative care". Thanks.
Alan B.

Personal responsibility is the key.

Govt policy induced stress is a massive factor in heart failure ! I have yet to see Govt health warnings on official documentation !

There have been enough deaths from the same diseases in smokers and non smokers to show that death from most things except old age is the luck of the draw. Death from old age is about the only thing that hasn't been blamed on tobacco.

I don't smoke, but highway robbery is highway robbery. There's no reason for them to be that expensive, even if the incentive to reduce the use is increased cost, there should still be a limit.