Indy, is that the words of a smoker?

You want those you don't agree with, those being illegal drug users, put on a user pay system of heath care. When I point out there are smokers and drinkers who are not covering the full medical and social cost of their addiction you are happy to pay for them. Is that not a double standard on your part?

smokers and drinkers who are not covering the full medical and social cost of their addiction
Paul1405,
Clasping at straws is not a viable base for debate. Smokers & drinkers are at least contributing to the costs, drug abusers are not. The alcohol & tobacco industries are massive economic drivers, drugs destroy everthing a decent society is all about.
I'm not saying smoking & drinking should be fostered. They should be educated out of the system, do-gooders merely excuse them. Perpetual excusing is a really bad way of working for a solution.
There are many smokers & drinkers who don't go ape$hit when having a smoke or a drink, drug abusers go off the rails. Answer this question; would you rather see people stoned out of their senses & be of no use to anyone or anything or would you prefer smokers & drinkers working & contribute to your wages ?

Hey Paul1405,
Apparently not only are smokers covering the costs of their addiction, they're making up the difference so non smokers get medicare too.

I remember Lleyonhjelm stating that smokers were paying 17 times the amount that they cost the community.
(Although I couldn't find his article stating it)

Not saying he's right or that you are right (different paid studies will show different results) but I'd like the facts.

Cigarettes are $1.25 each now and there must be 20 or 30 billion sold annually in Australia.

Your numbers don't seem realistic when compared to the facts.

What about the smoker that smokes for 40 years and then dies of a non-smoking related illness; all you did was steal their money.

What if we just paid a health insurance cost out of every pack sold?
Even if we did I'm sure there'd be plenty of cash left in government coffers.

If not they'd be going mental.

Paul,

It has been shown that because smokers' lives are shortened that on average they don't cost the taxpayer as much as someone that lives to the average age.

That the smoker pays a fortune in taxes means that that the unfortunate individual is a cash cow for the rest of us.

What if we just paid a health insurance cost out of every pack sold?
Armchair Critic,
Spot-on. User pays, what's more fair than that ? Pay for the services you require not for the services you don't use. Health is not like an Internet Service provider where you pay up front & you only recieve some of the service.
Recreational drug users/abusers should not be treated in de-tox clinics unless they have private health insurance.

//But perhaps you are an American, if so that would make your position a little more legitimate.//

Aye, he hails from Colorado. As an earnest tory bible-thumper, it's little wonder that he's a bit cranky these days. According to wikipedia:

"Unlike its neighbors to the north, west and east, Colorado is recognized as a strongly socially liberal state overall. Same-sex marriage in Colorado has been legal since 2014, and it was the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis, and one of the first jurisdictions on Earth to do so by popular referendum. The state is known for its progressive views on abortion and assisted suicide; Coloradans rejected a 2008 referendum that would have criminalized abortion, and approved a measure in 2016 that legalized assisted suicide in the state, and remains one of six states (along with the District of Columbia) to have legalized assisted suicide. In 2018, Colorado became the first state in the United States to elect an openly gay governor, Jared Polis, in the 2018 gubernatorial election."

I reckon he should

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNBjMRvOB5M

to Utah, which seems more his kind of state. Life is peaceful there.

Either that or get into some of that sweet, sweet legal grass and chill the out a bit. So your Governor prefers the romantic company of gentleman... whoopdee-frigging-doo. Worse things happen at sea, mate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpS4ebEtLUE