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From: werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Re: Smoking and the National Debt
Message-ID: <2078@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Nov-85 23:27:25 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.2078
Posted: Wed Nov 20 23:27:25 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Nov-85 08:37:43 EST
References: <2001@aecom.UUCP> <483@brl-sem.ARPA> <973@mcnc.mcnc.UUCP> <2208@amdahl.UUCP> <375@bcsaic.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 19

>  You guys have the wrong approach. Don't you realize that every person
>  who smokes saves the government about $35,000 (or so I read in
>  Scientific American). Seems medical costs are more than offset by the
>  decreased social security payments. (:} 
> 
>  Hang in there guys, you'll pay off the national debt yet!

	That's true if one only considers Medicare (-CARE)
	Unfortunately, last this doesn't take into account Smoking-related
disability paid for by MediCAID -- which last year accounted for $7Billion.
Then there is the lost income (and hence income tax) due to increased sick days
from all sources, which according to the Congressional Budget Office amounted
to a minimum of $10Billion additional. And that buys a lot of MX missiles.

-- 

				Craig Werner
				!philabs!aecom!werner
                 "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."