Smoking Is Not The Biggest Threat To The Health Of People In This Country.

[10ClarionSt]

By far the biggest threat to the health of people is without doubt, alcohol. The burden on the NHS to treat alcohol related diseases exceeds smoking causes by 1000%. Think about it. Death on the roads, absenteeism, domestic violence, town centre violence, lots of alcohol related illnesses. They all exceed the effects of tobacco by miles. But the action taken against alcohol is nothing compared to action against smoking.

[mikey4444]

What hard evidence do you have for that statement 10C ?

[mushroom25]

according to the nursing times, smoking costs the NHS £5bn a year
https://www.nursingtimes.net/smoking-costs-nhs-5bn-a-year/5002585.article
regardless of what else society inflicts on itself, is that money not worth saving?

[New Judge]

"Smoking Is Not The Biggest Threat To The Health Of People In This Country."

Agree

"By far the biggest threat to the health of people is without doubt, alcohol."

Disagree. By far the greatest threat, in the long term, to the health of people in the UK (and many other countries) is over population. Almost all major economies are built on a model which requires an ever-increasing population. Over-population will eventually make so-called Climate Change seem like a walk in the park.

[New Judge]

It's certainly happened elsewhere. Whether it has happened yet here in the UK is open to debate. Many people suffer unnecessarily (and some of them die) because sufficient medical facilities to cope with the numbers are not available. Of course no politicians will emphasise the point because none of them will accept that the UK's population is too large. As with the provision of other facilities (transport, housing, etc.) it is not under provision that is the problem but over population.

[whiskeryron]

The biggest threat to the health of people in this country is
Wait for it

IMMIGRATION

[EDDIE51]

We have has this one many times before. Drinking alcohol does not directly affect others around you but smoking does!
I can be sitting in a room while others share a bottle of wine and their drinking does not affect me! If they were smoking it would affect me!
I am NOT saying alcohol does not cause problems as we all know it does. But drinking in moderation has NO effect on others who have to share the room, there is NO minimum level at which smoking causes no harm! But moderate controlled alcohol consumption actually can have beneficial effects.

[EDDIE51]

Beneficial effects of moderate alcohol use
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/alcohol/art-20044551
You can Google as much as you like but you will not find any beneficial effects of smoking !!

[pastafreak]

10% of the NHS budget is spent on diabetes. In 2012 spending was 9.8 billion and expected to rise to over 16 billion. 1 billion is spent on drugs to treat it. It would cost a fraction if measures were taken to prevent the disease or if diet was used as part of treatment.

[Togo]

Earlier I posted the following on a tandem thread. It applies here too.
//All alcohol products should now be sold in plain bottles with non brand labeling but with big pictures of cancerous livers and stomachs on them instead. Pizza and all junk food labeling must be standardised, and sold in preferably plain boxes and packaging with big pictures of obese people and any product that contains sugar be treated the same. We must protect the gluttons from themselves and ensure that children cannot purchase any food item, not certified as safe by the thoughtful social engineers, without being accompanied by a responsible adult who conforms to the BMI which can be used by the till operators before any sale is made to a non anorexic looking purchaser. //

[Prudie]

Lost cause talking about it on here. It's something I and many others have mentioned but AB is so anti-smoking calling us filthy addicts - in fact it's the ONLY unsociable behaviour that doesn't get sympathy on AB. Drinking is fun, it's chummy, wine of the week and all that.

[Togo]

Don't forget what's for tea Prudie, and who remembers when Twix bars were as big as house bricks. :))

[Togo]

Better step out and have a Silk Cut after that. (^_*)

(That is a non advertising based post)
Just in case the "regulators" come knocking.

[Prudie]

yeah I'm off for a menthol before I have to start buying them off some geezer down a dark alley.

[EDDIE51]

Clarion St at 16.54 Yes that is the standard response. We all have had instances of drunken behaviour affecting us many times. The point is that moderate controlled use of alcohol IS NOT a problem whereas smoking is a problem no matter how limited the use of it is!
I say again there IS a lower limit under which alcohol is not a problem!
there is NO lower limit for smoking !!! it is 100% harmfull with no redeeming feature at all ! That may well be why it is the one habit that is always condemned on here !

[naomi24]

I suspect that the anti-smoking brigade on here make a fuss in order to detract attention from their own bad habits. ;o)

[-Talbot-]

Smoking is a mugs game .
Well now I have had my say I'm off out to get rat @-rsed


;0p

[Togo]

The packets that were upsettling them must have been so upsetting, must have made their empty lives hell. Now take the fancy labels off their wine bottles please.