The health care system will have to change eventually, unless the nation

Comment on General Election 2010 Poll Results by David.

The health care system will have to change eventually, unless the nation as a wholes takes responsibility for it’s health (I won’t hold my breath waiting!).

We do need a nation that takes responsibility for it’s health and I can see why you feel changes will force people to think about their health more.

I think you are wrong, if a person decides to smoke all their life they are not thinking about the money it costs to pay for the cigarettes let alone the potential costs to their health in the future.

Some people are stupid, they smoke, drink too much alcohol, lay on a beach for two weeks a year soaking up enough UV DNA damage to cause skin cancer later in life and are then surprised when their health fails!

I find the parents with obese kids the funniest. Their kids (the vast majority anyway) are unhealthy fat because they let them over eat. It’s not rocket science, if your kitchen is filled with junk food (crisps, chocolate etc…) and you let your kids eat as often as they like, they’ll get FAT and will be unhealthy later in life. I have three sons, none of them are overweight, youngest loves eating and if we had the attitude of eat whatever you want when you want, he’d be overweight. I’ve spent the best part of three years stuck in bed (my back problem, 20+ hours a day lay down, I live like a couch potato!), if I ate junk food I’d get so big I’d not be able to get out of bed! I can’t exercise anywhere near as much as I want to (or used to), but by being careful with what I eat (I’m far from a saint, I love chocolate) I’m around 1 stone over my perfect weight.

I won’t donate my organs, not because I don’t disagree with donating organs, but because I don’t want a retarded smoker or alcoholic to get my lungs/liver after I’ve looked after them so well (my health problems are not self inflicted through self abuse). Since there’s no system in place to give organs to those in need who haven’t brought the problem on themselves, I’m not on the donor list.

So I might argue against your proposed health care system, but I do agree people need to take responsibility for what they bring on themselves, but what you’ve proposed will hurt those who through no fault of their own are needing the NHS.

I’d make people pay for their mistakes through taxes, increase the tax on anything that causes a strain on the NHS. A person wants to risk cancer by smoking, fine, but your going to pay for it through a massive tax on cigarettes. Similar with alcohol, with the anti social aspect of alcohol abuse I think it’s even more important to make over drinking expensive.

David